According to The Sunday Times (print version via Football League World), Tottenham are set to do battle with Aston Villa over the signing of Brentford attacker Said Benrahma.

The Algerian has been consistently brilliant for a while now, having registered ten goals and 14 assists in 38 Championship appearances last season, while also racking up three goals and five assists in 20 league outings so far this term - Benrahma has also won 13 WhoScored Man of the Match awards across the previous campaign and the current one.

At first glance, it seems like the 24-year-old would be an exciting addition for Spurs given his attacking output over the last 18 months - however, one thing is strikingly evident.

Benrahma truly doesn't seem to be a typical Jose Mourinho signing.

Just by looking at the first two pages of the Portuguese boss' signings on Transfermarkt, you can see that the former Chelsea, Inter and Real Madrid manager usually opts for ready-made stars.

The likes of Paul Pogba, Andriy Shevchenko, Samuel Eto'o and Luka Modric crop up within the first two pages detailing all of Mourinho's 133 signings across his managerial career, all of whom were established international footballers before teaming up with the current Spurs boss.

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In Benrahma's case, the Bees star has never tasted Premier League football, and has only ever appeared in top-flight action in France's Ligue 1 while playing for OGC Nice as a youngster.

That isn't to say that the Brentford No.10 wouldn't be a good Premier League performer - his former teammate Neal Maupay has already netted seven Premier League goals for Brighton following his summer exit from the Championship club, so the step-up isn't an impossible one to make.

However, the point is that, while Benrahma is an impressive player to say the least, it would feel like Mourinho has broken new ground in the transfer market from a personal aspect if he decides to abandon his apparent preference for ready-made stars to sign this rough gem.

In other news, Mourinho must be ready to adapt if Brighton follow Chelsea's lead on Boxing Day...