Tottenham Hotspur could be set to benefit from their special relationship with Real Madrid this January transfer window, according to reports...
What's the word?
SemferrSport claim that Spurs are among the teams eyeing a move for Spanish right-back Alvaro Odriozola as he's no longer in the plans of Zinedine Zidane.
It is thought that he is likely to leave either this month or during the summer with Dortmund, PSG and AC Milan also keen on his signature.
Daniel Levy secured a sensational return for Gareth Bale, as well as the arrival of left-back Sergio Reguilon from the La Liga giants in the summer, so could he strike a third time?
Trippier successor, finally
On the face of it, a new right-back is the last of priorities for Jose Mourinho.
However, he is clearly yet to settle on either Serge Aurier, who was at Spurs before he arrived and Matt Doherty, who he signed from Wolves for £15m only five months ago.
Last season, Mourinho admitted that he was afraid of the Ivorian's defending, so it was no surprise when he bolstered the position at the first opportunity, but the pair of his current options have split game time thus far.
Aurier has started 13 of his 14 appearances in all competitions, whilst Doherty played 17 times too. Perhaps a move for Odriozola settles the debate instantly for the 57-year-old?
It could be argued that Spurs are yet to truly replace Kieran Trippier, who swapped north London for the red side of Madrid in July 2019.
In short, Mourinho has not fully trusted Aurier, he's sold Kyle Walker-Peters and he hasn't considered starting new signing Doherty in every game, so this pattern begins to hint towards why a fresh option in the role is needed.
Odriozola cost Madrid around €35m (£30m) two years ago but after a lack of game-time last term, he was sent to Champions League winners Bayern Munich on loan, where he won the aforementioned competition as well as the Bundesliga.
Throughout the course of his career, he has proven to be a valuable attacking outlet, averaging 1.3 key passes, one dribble and 0.9 crosses per game, via WhoScored.
When compared to the current Spurs squad, those numbers would rank him third behind Harry Kane and Heung-min Son for key passes and ahead of all of Spurs' full-backs for dribbles per game in the Premier League this season too.
During his final campaign at Spurs, Trippier averaged an impressive 1.8 key passes per game, so both Aurier and Doherty have a lot more to do to match that total, whereas Odriozola is only a fraction behind having barely featured for Madrid recently.
That hasn't stopped the four-time Spanish international from impressing Los Galacticos legend Michel Salgado, who dubbed him "spectacular" and one of the "two best right full-backs in Spain."
Odriozola has also been lauded for his pace by Sociedad president Jokin Aperribay, who once said: "He'll be one of the quickest players in La Liga."
The rarely-seen speed demon has all the characteristics that'll please Mourinho, in very much a similar nature to Reguilon, and given everything said above, Daniel Levy would be a wise man to sanction a swoop for the Madrid ace this window.
If the opportunity arises, Spurs should strike. They could finally find a long-term solution at right-back.
AND in other news, £27m-rated beast who won ONLY 35% of his duels badly let Mourinho down last night...