Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a surprise move for Andreas Christensen this week...

What's the word?

According to the Daily Star, the north Londoners have joined Manchester City and Manchester United in the race to secure the 25-year-old on a free transfer in the summer.

The 54-cap Denmark international is yet to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge, meaning he is currently expected to become a free-agent at the end of the current campaign.

As a result, several Premier League teams have been put on high alert, including Spurs, where manager Antonio Conte is seeking defensive reinforcements.

Christensen is currently valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt.

Bargain raid

The defender dubbed the 'Danish [Paolo] Maldini' would be quite the coup for the Lilywhites, particularly snatching him from their rival's grasp.

Of course, he is also a player that Conte knows well having managed him during his time at Stamford Bridge. Christensen played 40 times under the Italian, who also once backed him to become a leader for the club.

"Christensen is having a fantastic season and showing great maturity. For me, apart from the mistake, his performance was great, was wonderful," he said (via the Evening Standard).

"I have a lot of trust in Christensen. This player is a player for the present for Chelsea, and for Chelsea's future for 10 or 12 years. He can also become the captain of this team in the future."

Indeed, the Danish star has emerged as a solid option for Spurs' arch-rivals in recent times, starting ten of his 11 appearances in the Premier League this term, which comes off the back of 27 appearances last season, including 51 minutes in their Champions League triumph against City.

Christensen played the entire match during the clash between the two sides back in September, where he proved to be a massive nightmare for a front two of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane.

Nuno Santo's side were thrashed 3-0 with is strike duo managing only two shots on target between them all game. SofaScore also grade the pair at 6.5 or lower - the two lowest of any starter. Son lost 75% of his duels and Kane was dominated in the air, winning just two of six aerial duels.

The Chelsea defender won 80% of his duels, earned a 7.5 rating and registered three interceptions (second-most in the game).

In the past, he has been dubbed a "really special talent" and "colossal" by TalkChelsea's Simon Phillips, so that only goes to show how important he has been for the west Londoners and Denmark in recent times.

On the above evidence, sporting director Fabio Paratici could land Spurs an absolute bargain and quite the coup, should he win the race to seal Christensen's signature.

Whether they truly stand a chance remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Paratici must brutally axe "terrible" £19.8m-rated Spurs flop, he's cost £8m per goal...