Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a gutting transfer blow ahead of deadline day...

What's the word?

According to Spanish publication Sport, young Barcelona prodigy Ilaix Moriba has rejected a move to the north London outfit after listening to their proposal.

It's thought that the 18-year-old believes he would be guaranteed more minutes at Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, who can also offer him Champions League football, unlike Spurs.

Furthermore, Mundo Deportivo have also claimed that Moriba has told the La Liga giants of his intention to only sign for the Red Bulls. The La Masia graduate is out of contract next summer, so Barcelona seem likely to sell before tomorrow's deadline or risk losing him for nothing.

Gutting blow

The prospect of prising one of Barcelona's most promising youngsters away from the Nou Camp would've been a very exciting prospect, especially given his touted potential.

Moriba only featured in 18 games last season but has already seen his value rise to £22.5m after contributing one goal and three assists, per Transfermarkt.

The Guinea-born teenager, who is capped for Spain at youth level, also averaged 1.2 key passes, 2.2 shots, 2.3 tackles and 3.2 dribbles per 90 minutes, via WhoScored, which suggests he's an impressive box-to-box sort of talent and one that can deliver on the biggest stage.

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It's perhaps why he was deemed a "young [Paul] Pogba" by his former youth coach Denis Silva Puig.

"He's physically very strong, but he's also a very intelligent player," he said. "Most people don't appreciate this. Here he's called the 'Pogba of Barca' because he's like a young Pogba, but also he is very, very intelligent—and that is his big potential. He is a top player, no doubt."

Spurs sanctioned the exit of Moussa Sissoko to fellow Londoners Watford last week in a move that eventually saw the veteran Frenchman feature against them on Sunday afternoon, whilst the future of Tanguy Ndombele is by no means certain, so the Lilywhites could well have done with another addition in Nuno Santo's engine room.

Even more so after Fabio Paratici's business thus far - he's signed another one of La Liga's biggest emerging talents in Byran Gil, so you could only imagine what Spurs' long-term future would look like with Moriba joining the ranks alongside players like Oliver Skipp, Japhet Tanganga and Dane Scarlett, too.

Therefore, not only will the Italian sporting director be gutted to miss out on Moriba but the fans should be too. Their business has been rather exciting this window and nabbing a top youth talent from one of the best academies in the world would've surely been the icing on the cake.

For now, though, their attentions may have to turn elsewhere.

AND in other news, "It's close": Fabrizio Romano drops Spurs claim that'll leave fans ecstatic...