According to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold, Jose Mourinho is keen on bringing Ruben Dias to Tottenham.

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The north London side could face the prospect of a major summer revamp, with the futures of many players in the first-team squad up in the air - not least the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Juan Foyth.

And according to Gold, if Spurs do lose the defensive duo, then Mourinho is "likely to want another choice of his own to slot into the backline". It's suggested that the Lilywhites' boss is keen on raiding Benfica for another player after the loan of Gedson Fernandes back in the January transfer window.

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Dias is the name touted with a potential switch to north London, and due to his agent being Jorge Mendes, Spurs "would hope to agree a lower fee for a player who is rated at around the £40m mark".

Perfect Vertonghen replacement

Dias has been an absolute rock at the heart of the best defence in Portugal - his Benfica side had conceded just 14 goals in 24 games in the Portuguese top-flight.

The centre-back's numbers don't tend to point to someone who is a dominant defender, with just 1.3 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game. But he is the kind of calming influence that reassures the rest of the Benfica back-line - something most clearly seen by how he averages a whopping 64.1 passes per match, at an accuracy of 88.8%.

In fact, only Porto's Ivan Marcano has registered a higher average match rating for a central defender than Dias' 7.06 this season. If Vertonghen does end up leaving as reports suggest when his contract expires, then bringing in the Benfica ace can ensure Spurs' back-line doesn't get considerably weaker. Instead, with him only being 22, Dias could shore up Mourinho's team for both now, and for the future too.

As the rest of the Premier League's big-hitters seem interested in Samuel Umtiti and Kalidou Koulibaly, bringing in Dias could be the kind of Steve Hitchen masterclass that ensures Spurs actually get the best deal out of everyone.

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