Tottenham Hotspur have their sights set on a new midfielder, but Daniel Levy may well find it hard to get his hands on said player...

What's the word?

According to Calciomercato.it, Spurs are one of several Premier League teams monitoring the progress of Juventus loanee Weston McKennie in the off chance that the Italian giants do not sign him permanently.

It's claimed that the Serie A champions have an option to buy of €18.5m (£16.5m) plus bonuses, whilst Chelsea and Manchester United are also mooted with interest.

The report suggests how the 22-year-old has dazzled and impressed Andrea Pirlo this season, so it would be hard to imagine the club not sanctioning that switch.

Shades of Michael Essien

However, if they do not, then Spurs must be ready to strike so there is certainly no harm keeping tabs on the situation from Levy's side of things.

In doing so, he could land Jose Mourinho his next Michael Essien as the two players have stark similarities which will have the 'Special One' salivating from the mouth.

McKennie has started ten games across the Serie A and Champions League this term, where he has averaged 1.5 tackles, one shot and one key pass per game, also contributing to a total of four goals, as per WhoScored.

This very much backs up his ability as a box-to-box sensation, one that Bundesliga.com likened to Arturo Vidal due to his ability to 'deliver the goods as a No. 6, 8, or 10.'

His former boss at parent club David Wagner lauded the USA international as an "outstanding talent" also reinforcing the aforementioned view, claiming: "In the No.6 or No.8 position he has the mentality, a real working mentality that you need. And he's brave on the ball as well."

Under Mourinho at Chelsea and Real Madrid, Essien was an animal - in the 2005/06 title-winning season, the only midfielder that managed more shots per 90 minutes than the Ghanian was Frank Lampard, whilst in 2012/13 in La Liga, he averaged 1.4 tackles per game.

It's thought that the Portuguese boss wants a dynamic midfielder in 2021, so maybe he can get lucky and strike on the Schalke man. He and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg would be a phenomenal pivot.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt reacts to Spurs star's latest injury BLOW...