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Tottenham are the latest club to join the hunt for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe, according to The Times.

What's the word?

Having kept his wallet shut during the summer transfer window, Mauricio Pochettino is ready to splash the cash in January to bolster his Tottenham squad ahead of the testing battle for a top-four finish that lies ahead.

According to The Timesthis has seen Spurs join the hunt for Lille's exciting winger Nicolas Pepe as the Lilywhites seek to bolster their depth in the attacking third - but landing the player's services could prove to be difficult.

Arsenal are also in the hunt for the 23-year-old, according to Le 10 Sportwith a fee for the Ivory Coast international likely to set a new club-record for Spurs as he is valued at €50m (£44m).

Worth a punt?

Attacking players arriving from the French league have a decent record in the Premier League, with Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette and Tottenham's Lucas Moura providing strong evidence of this.

[brid autoplay="true" video="308991" player="12034" title="Watch Fixture in Focus West Ham v Tottenham"]

However, Spurs already look well-stocked in the wide positions of their squad with the aforementioned Moura, Erik Lamela and Son Heung-Min to choose from so it is difficult to justify splashing a club-record fee on a squad player.

Tottenham would be better off spending their fund to bolster their defence, where both Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen see their contracts expire at the end of the season, or to provide a back-up to striker Harry Kane.