The centre-backs Tottenham should target to cover injury absences

Things had been looking really quite rosy for Tottenham, with Mauricio Pochettino’s men picking up a sterling bit of form in the Premier League. But after the 1-1 draw with Man City, the Argentine could do with lining up one or two defensive reinforcements.

Jan Verthongen went off in the hammering of West Brom, while Toby Alderweireld had to be substituted in the weekend’s draw with the Citizens.

And although left-back Danny Rose managed to play the full 90, the England international departed the Etihad with his knee in a brace.

With competition for a top-four spot so intense this season, Pochettino can ill-afford to see Spurs struggle to cover their growing injury list.

So we’ve picked out three men who the White Hart Lane outfit should turn to fill the void.

Andrea Ranocchia

The Inter Milan defender ticks plenty of boxes for Tottenham. The 28-year-old centre-half boasts over 160 appearances for I Nerazurri and 21 Italian caps, but has fallen down the pecking order this season.

That means the experienced defender is readily available, and the Serie A giants are believed to be happy to sell for as little as £5m.

It’s also been reported that Spurs could land the former Genoa man on-loan, with a view to a permanent deal in the summer.

Stefan de Vrij

Napoli’s Stefan de Vrij might cost substantially more than Ranocchia, but at just 24, Spurs would be landing one for the future.

Valued at just over £17m by transfermarkt.co.uk, the Dutchman’s contract in Naples will expire next summer, leaving Gli Azzurri under pressure to ward off any bids.

Chelsea are also believed to be interested, but this would be acquiring the man named in FIFA’s World Cup All-Star Team of 2014 would be a real statement signing from Pochettino.

Lamine Kone

Plenty will say Sunderland’s Kone isn’t in the same bracket as the previous two on this list, but he’s a man who could do a job in the next six months.

Granted, the Black Cats have shown a reluctance to sell their key men this month – understandably so – but Kone continues to impress on Wearside.

Sunderland have picked up just one point from the five games he’s missed this term, but if they’re prepared to sell Patrick van Aanholt to relegation rivals Crystal Palace for the right price, then Tottenham should have a good chance at prising Kone.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing