Thursday 3 January 2019 15:48, UK
Tottenham may need to stump up at least £20m if they hope to land Hull City's young winger Jarrod Bowen this month, Sky Sports News understands.
The Tigers are aware that Spurs scouts have been watching Bowen closely in recent matches, along with a number of other Premier League clubs - but they are not under any pressure to sell their standout star.
Sky Sports News understands that Burnley, another club in the January market for wingers, have also sent scouts to watch the 22-year-old at the KCOM Stadium.
Spurs have remained interested in signing a young homegrown talent capable of playing in the positions behind Harry Kane, since the summer, when their £25m move for Aston Villa's Jack Grealish fell through.
Bowen has a year-long extension option in his contract, effectively giving him two-and-a-half years left on his Hull deal, and the club believe he is worth a similar price to other attackers that have recently stepped up from the Championship.
Among the cost markers for a player of that profile is James Maddison, who joined Leicester from Norwich City for £24m last summer.
Although Spurs have space for a home-grown player in their Premier League squad, after submitting theirs a number short of 25 in the summer, boss Mauricio Pochettino is understood to prefer to keep his first-team training numbers tight.
He may therefore want to offload one of the three attacking players that are not currently featuring in his plans - Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente and Georges-Kevin N'Koudou - before moving for a newcomer - and doing so will not be easy.
The club will listen to offers for all three, including loans, but may struggle to find clubs willing to take on players that have not played all season, with centre-forward Janssen particularly difficult having spent months out with a foot injury.
The 24-year-old has fully recovered from the problem and could play in Spurs' next U23 game against Liverpool in the Premier League 2 on Monday.
But recent reports that Celtic are interested in Janssen have proved to be "nonsense" according to a source in Scotland, while the Netherlands striker is thought to be on the lists of several struggling Premier League clubs - but far down their priorities.
