One of Jose Mourinho's worst nightmares at Tottenham Hotspur could become a reality in 2021...

What's the word?

According to Defensa Central, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is 'interested' in signing Heung-min Son as neither Kylian Mbappe nor Mohamed Salah are likely to arrive at the Bernabeu.

They believe the Frenchman dreams of signing the impressive South Korean sensation but accepts that any deal would far exceed €100m (£90m).

Progress over contract talks with the 27-year-old have slowed down in recent weeks due to a change in representation, but it is thought that Spurs are prepared to offer him a bumper £200k-per-week deal, as per the Telegraph.

Worst nightmare

Madrid's interest in Son could potentially throw a spanner in the works, though, especially as Daniel Levy has previously noted a special "partnership" with the La Liga giants after the sales of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale in the past.

The £81m-rated left-winger has firmly established himself among the Premier League's best players in last 18 months, bringing home very lucrative attacking returns alongside Harry Kane.

Indeed, Son has scored 16 goals in all competitions this term alone, which at the moment is one fewer than the England skipper.

The pair have combined for 13 goals in the Premier League, tying a long-standing top-flight record set by Blackburn Rovers duo Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton back in 1994/95.

They are also three behind Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard for the record of lifetime goal contributions of any pairing.

12 of Spurs' 29 league goals have come from Son too, so that only emphasises how important his role is under Mourinho right now and whilst interest in his services was always going to arrive given his form, it would serve as a cold reminder that they are still some way off the very top level.

As Darren Bent told Football Insider, an injury to Son could seriously "derail Spurs' season massively" and the same has to be said if he's at all swayed by the latest transfer interest.

Even in Kane's absence last season, Martin Keown dubbed the enigmatic inside-forward a "revelation" on Match of the Day 2 [16/02, 10:45pm], which shows that in some ways Son is of even more importance to Spurs as he has stepped up without the prolific striker beside him.

We saw how difficult it was to replace Modric all those years ago - none of the likes of Paulinho, Lewis Holtby or Gylfi Sigurdsson could fill that void, and perhaps it wasn't until Christian Eriksen's arrival that Spurs finally found that midfield playmaker once again.

The same effect could certainly repeat itself if Son were to swap north London for Madrid this year.

AND in other news, Levy could find their next Ricky Villa in "rare" £36m speed demon...