The upcoming summer transfer window is a massive one for Tottenham Hotspur and Mauricio Pochettino.
Threatening for years to emerge as a serious title-contending force in the English Premier League, they were miles off the pace of Manchester City this season. With Liverpool improving all the time, Manchester United and Chelsea preparing themselves for another summer splurge and Arsenal about to embark on a new managerial era, this needs to be the transfer window that Spurs start showing serious ambition.
One of the key areas of the pitch that could do with improvement over the next few months is in central midfield.
Beyond the continually impressive Mousa Dembele, Spurs have lacked a solidity in the middle of the park that should be anchoring their more creative, dynamic and forward thinking players. Dembele himself is more of an all-rounder rather than a defensive specialist.
Harry Winks is a tidy player but is struggling to convince Pochettino he can be trusted to play regular top-flight football. Victor Wanyama is increasingly struggling to impose himself on the opposition despite his obvious physicality. In the case of Eric Dier, the Spurs manager can't seem to decide whether to play him in defence or midfield half the time.
Last week the club have been linked with a £25m move for Boca Juniors' Colombian midfielder Wilmar Barrios.
His role in Boca's first team is perhaps best directly compared to that of Wanyama's at Tottenham. He's a player that screens the defensive line and fights flames before they burst into full blown fires.
With supporters crying out for more creativity and dynamism in the Spurs midfield, it might seem an odd priority for Spurs to pay a significant amount of money for a defensive midfielder, but his contributions in 2017/19 demonstrate a player who could replace the Kenyan in Pochettino's starting eleven.
His defensive averages in key areas for the Argentinian side for the season past, as collated by WhoScored.com, not only outstrip Wanyama, but much of the entire Tottenham squad.
With 69 tackles in total, he's averaging three per game, almost double the average of Victor Wanyama with 1.7. The Kenyan international also falls behind in averages for interceptions, clearances and blocks compared to the Colombian.
While the Premier League is obviously a higher standard than the Argentinian top-flight, it's clear that Barrios is a player willing to impose himself on the match and turnover possession, rather than passively marking or jockeying his opponents.
With an 84% passing accuracy rating too, he can clearly be effective in moving the ball on to teammates.
It's an energy and commitment that could bring new life to Tottenham next season and allow their attacking players to shine, perhaps performing a similar role to that of N'Golo Kante at Chelsea, although obviously a direct quality comparison to the French international is a little early.
His appearance at the upcoming World Cup should be of particular interest to Spurs fans, who could get a look at how he does against more elite competition than his league opposition.
Is he the midfield enforcer Tottenham need? The potential is certainly there.
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