Tottenham close to sealing £35m Porro deal in a blow to two stars

Premier League returns: Tottenham's mid-season review

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Tottenham are reportedly close to sealing a £35million for Sporting Lisbon full-back Pedro Porro in a huge boost for Antonio Conte’s side. And it could help convince the Italian to remain at the club. The boss has hinted that he would like more ready-made signings in order to take Spurs to the next level, and Porro could represent a significant improvement on his current options.

Neither Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty nor Djed Spence have nailed down that right wing-back spot in Conte’s system and Porro’s arrival could mean the end of their Spurs careers. The Brazilian, while adept defensively, has struggled to provide the attacking influence needed from a wing-back, while Doherty has had the opposite problems at times.

Spurs are expected to conclude a deal for Porro by the end of this week, and he would become their first signing of the January transfer window. The 23-year-old previously spent some time at Manchester City, though he did not make an appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side and had loans at Real Valladolid and Sporting, before joining the Portuguese side permanently in May.

Sporting signed Porro for a reported £7.2m, and Manchester City negotiated a buy-back clause of £17.6m but appear unlikely to exercise their option. Conte will be pleased to sign a dynamic wing-back, having registered five assists in nine league starts for Sporting this season.

Conte’s contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium expires at the end of the season and there have been questions over whether the club’s ambition matches his own and if he will sign an extension. The signing of Porro would certainly help in convincing the ex-Chelsea boss to stay. Talks are underway over a potential new deal, but part of the negotiations involves him understanding that the club are willing to spend in order to compete with their Premier League rivals.

Spurs dropped to fifth in the table following Manchester United’s 1-0 win away to Wolves on New Year’s Eve, and will be hoping to regain their place in the top four on Sunday at home to Aston Villa. It could be the final league game they play without Porro this season, however, as Doherty may retain his place from the 2-2 draw with Brentford.

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After the Boxing Day draw, Conte once again reiterated the big gap in quality between his squad and the likes of his rivals. “A winning team, you can’t build in one year,” Conte admitted. “Two years; you have to change mentality, you have to change also many situations, many aspects to become a winner.

“For sure I have a group of players that show me great ability. I think last season we made a big achievement to finish in the top four. But I have just told them now that in this top four now, there isn’t Chelsea, Liverpool and [Manchester] United.

“And for sure for the rest of the season, we are talking about big, big clubs with great possibility to go into the transfer market to spend money.”

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