Tottenham Hotspur are increasingly unlikely to land Milan Skriniar today, so they must desperately seek an alternative and one name stands out among the rest...
What's the word?
According to The Athletic's David Ornstein, the north Londoners have explored the potential of signing Manchester City flop John Stones on loan, though the finances involved could prove to be problematic.
It's thought that the English centre-back is on around £100k-per-week at the Etihad Stadium. He has since slipped right down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola following the arrivals of Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias.
Ornstein claims that the two teams spoke on Sunday but it could be Eric Garcia leaving rather than Stones.
A desperate but needed addition
It's no secret that Jose Mourinho needs another defender having sanctioned the exit of Juan Foyth to Villarreal, which follows on from Jan Vertonghen's departure earlier this window.
And whilst Skriniar would round off a dream summer, it appears he's way out of reach and thus, an alternative must be considered.
Stones divides opinion for club and country but perhaps a move to Spurs could reignite the form that saw him originally earn that £47.5m move to City from Everton in 2016.
The 26-year-old has enjoyed success against the north London outfit too, he was part of the side that silenced Harry Kane in 2018 - per SofaScore, Stones recorded four clearances, won five duels and kept a clean sheet whilst Kane managed a poor 6.5 rating after just one shot all match. He even lost possession 13 times.
Now valued at £27m by Transfermarkt, the City colossus was once lauded as "unbelievable" by teammate Kyle Walker, adding: "You don't quite appreciate him until you are playing alongside him. He rarely gets beat, he is great on the ball and he is very calm and level-headed."
As desperate as it would be, Levy could do no harm in adding Stones especially with fixtures coming thick and fast this season.
AND in other news, No Alli, Bale or Winks: How Spurs' XI may look if Levy lands key target...