Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly submitted an official proposal to sign Palmeiras midfielder Richard Rios, as per Caught Offside.
The Lilywhites have had a poor first half of this season under Ange Postecoglou’s guidance, sitting in the bottom half of the table with 24 points from 20 games.
They managed to beat Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final last week but struggled to defeat National League side Tamworth in the FA Cup third-round fixture last weekend, although they eventually won the match and reached the next round.
Injury problems have been one of the reasons behind their inconsistent performances thus far this season as Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Guglielmo Vicario are all out with their problems at the moment.
So, Postecoglou is looking to add reinforcements in this winter window to turn the situation around and has already signed Antonin Kinsky to bolster the goalkeeping department.
Rios to Tottenham
Now, Caught Offside claim that Spurs are also planning to sign a new midfielder and Postecoglou is ‘very keen’ on signing Rios. Tottenham have already stepped up their efforts to get the deal done by launching an opening offer.
However, the player has a £84m[€100m] release clause in his current contract and the Brazilian side have already rejected the Lilywhites’ opening bid.
The report say Tottenham aren’t the only club interested in the Colombian as Everton and Nottingham Forest are also pushing hard to seal the deal.
Rios is an energetic midfielder and likes to play in the box-to-box role. Moreover, he can provide cover in the defensive midfield position if needed.
Tottenham lack numbers in their engine room as Yves Bissouma, Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall are the only options Postecoglou has at his disposal.
However, the Uruguayan has struggled with injury problems in recent years, while Bergvall is still young and needs time to develop his career. Therefore, signing a new midfielder would be the right decision.
Rios has the necessary attributes to flourish in the Premier League so he would be a shrewd acquisition for Tottenham if they purchase him. However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club eventually secure his service before the deadline.
