Tottenham Hotspur are set to face serious competition for one of their mooted targets this summer...

What's the word?

According to the Independent, Premier League rivals West Ham have entered the race to sign Norwich City gem Max Aarons, whilst Everton and Bayern Munich are also said to be interested.

It's not the first time that Spurs have been linked to the 21-year-old as Eurosport suggested two months ago that he is on the list of potential replacements for Serge Aurier.

Aarons is thought to be available for around £30m, double what Daniel Levy paid for Matt Doherty last summer.

Bye-bye Aurier?

The right-back position had been a troublesome problem throughout the season for Jose Mourinho, and that isn't likely to change under new management.

Doherty's time in north London has gone abysmally, as he was at risk of being sold at the end of the season if the Portuguese kept hold of his job, according to ESPN.

It's hard to believe that he would be let go by Levy after just a year, although he's certainly not good enough to be the starter, having averaged a 6.71 rating on WhoScored, their tenth best and still sits behind Aurier.

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As Football Insider reported in March, the Ivorian's future could be in doubt as the club looks to cash in on him. Even though he's been the main starter on the right, he's still caused the side plenty of issues.

Following a league defeat to Manchester United, Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane deemed the £23m signing  a "huge problem" for Spurs and a "car crash."

And after they crashed out of the Carabao Cup, Jamie Carragher told Monday Night Football (via talkSPORT) that Aurier was "one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football and is a player who would possibly put you off management," echoing the thoughts of ex-Spurs striker Darren Bent, who labelled him a "liability" back in December 2019.

Aarons, who Mourinho believed was too small to sign, could be the solution as he's continued to impress at the Canaries.

The £18m-rated dynamo has started more games than any other player at Carrow Road, and that has still seen him rank amongst Daniel Farke's best performers, with an average WhoScored rating of 6.92.

From that right-back spot, the attack-minded defender has even contributed two goals and one assist, on top of 1.3 dribbles and 1.3 key passes.

"In my eyes he is not the young Max Aarons, he is just a special player and he has an unbelievable future," lauded Farke back in December. "I know he has been labelled as one of the best young players in this league. Well I told him we can reject this label now because he is no longer one of the best young players, he is one of the best players."

If Levy wants to lessen the monumental task on Spurs' next boss, whoever that may be, then a swoop for Aarons would be a good place to start. In doing so, he can finally axe the problematic Aurier and instead have a player who can be part of the next era for a very long time.

AND in other news, Levy suffers huge managerial blow over "phenomenal" coach...