According to 90min, Tottenham are one of a number of Premier League sides who are "monitoring" the situation of Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser.

What's the word?

The Scotland international's current contract with the Cherries expires at the end of the season, and would thus be available to leave on a free transfer.

And according to 90min, with Fraser having snubbed the offer of a new deal from Eddie Howe's side, the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and Everton are "all contemplating offering a contract".

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Fraser has endured a particularly disappointing campaign so far this year, managing just one goal and four assists in 31 games across all competitions.

More of the same

Whilst a swoop for Fraser last season would have made a whole load of sense - the 26-year-old scored seven times and provided 14 assists in the Premier League alone - his drop-off in form this term makes it a difficult move to justify based purely on footballing terms.

Financially speaking, a free transfer for a player who has shown he can have an impact at Premier League level seems shrewd on the face of it. Daniel Levy once again looking to find the best possible deals in the market. But this is exactly what former manager Mauricio Pochettino warned Spurs about.

The Argentine made it clear whilst he was still in charge, that the only way for the Lilywhites to start contending for trophies on a regular basis, was if they started operating in a different way.

Back in January of 2019, he insisted that "if we want to be real contenders we need to operate in a different way in the future". He would later reiterate that sentiment in April, suggesting "the magnitude of the club has grown ten times, 100 times, we are in another dimension. We cannot operate in the same way as five years ago. To be close to the big clubs, you must think the way that the big clubs think."

Going after a player on a free transfer would simply be Levy and Spurs doing the one thing Pochettino was adamant they shouldn't be doing. To start competing with the biggest and best, they need to be loosening the purse-strings.

Instead, the north London side risk doing what their former boss warned them about.

Meanwhile, a Tottenham exit for this star could set off a domino effect.