Tottenham lodge £30m bid for Barcelona star in spectacular last-ditch deadline day swoop | OneFootball

Tottenham have reportedly made a deadline day offer to sign a top Barcelona star in the final hours of the winter window, as Thomas Frank looks to bolster a squad that is seemingly losing more bodies by the game.

Spurs came from behind to draw 2-2 with title-challenging Manchester City on Sunday, but that contest came at a cost with two-goal hero Dominic Solanke rolling his ankle, while skipper Cristian Romero was forced off at half-time with an illness that he carried over from the Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Add in the fact that James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Lucas Bergvall, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Pedro Porro and Djed Spence were all on the sidelines against City. and it’s a full-blown injury crisis for a Tottenham side who are on the brink of being dragged into the relegation scrap.

To that end, bringing in a couple of signings on deadline day would be a massive help to Frank, who admitted after the City draw that the club are looking to strike some deals, telling reporters:  “We are active, no doubt about that. If something happens, let’s see.”

That “let’s see” could well be Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo, according to the latest reports emerging from Spain.

The 26-year-old Uruguay international has been heavily linked with a switch to the Premier League for a number of years, and now Spanish outlet Fichajes, who are known for being a little loose with the truth, claim that Barcelona have received an ‘offer’ from Tottenham worth €35m (£30m) to sign the defender on deadline.

The report adds: ‘The proposal is structured as a fixed fee of €30 million plus €5 million in add-ons, a formula that FC Barcelona is already analysing internally.’

Araujo has not been at his best this season but has still made 19 appearances for a Barca side who currently top LaLiga and have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Fichajes adds that Tottenham’s interest ‘has now materialized with a formal offer’ and that the north London club are hoping the Catalan side ‘might be tempted to accept due to their current financial situation’.

The report continues: ‘The potential departure of Ronald Araujo is causing internal division. Part of the club believes that letting go of a center-back of his age could be a significant sporting risk. Others believe FC Barcelona should be pragmatic.’

Jhon Duran’s representatives are scrambling to secure him a move to England on Monday after a proposed switch to Lille collapsed at the final stage, leaving the striker’s future wide open heading into deadline day and Tottenham in the mix for his signature, TEAMtalk understands.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid are planning a bid for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero, according to a speculative report in the Spanish media, as our sources analyses why such a move is.