Jose Mourinho could be in the market for a midfielder this month following Moussa Sissoko’s knee injury.
The Tottenham star suffered the issue in his side’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton and has been ruled out until April.
On Tuesday, a club statement said: “Following a clinical assessment and scans, Moussa Sissoko has today undergone surgery to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
“The France international sustained the injury in our fixture against Southampton, resulting in him missing our recent FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough.
“Our medical staff will monitor Moussa’s recovery before he commences rehabilitation with a view to returning to training in early April.”
Sissoko has appeared in 10 of Mourinho’s 11 opening games in charge of Tottenham, missing the draw at Norwich through suspension.
Now, his absence leaves Spurs short in midfield with club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele suffering fitness issues and Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama seemingly out of favour.
Whether they sign a back-up for Sissoko remains to be seen, but talkSPORT.com looks at six options the club could sign fill the void left by Sissoko.
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Ben Godfrey (Norwich)
Godfrey has caught the attention of Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham in the past year.
The 21-year-old played an integral part in Norwich’s promotion to the Premier League last season and has been a mainstay in the team this term.
While he has been playing as a centre-half for the Canaries, Godfrey can also be deployed in midfield, but is believed to be valued at around £30million.
With Norwich seven points from safety, the club could be reluctant to sell one of their star players until the summer.
Boubakary Soumare (Lille)
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham are reportedly battling to sign Lille midfielder Soumare.
The 20-year-old is best known for his ball-winning ability in the middle of the park, something which Mourinho’s side lacks at the moment.
Sky Sports claim Lille expect to sell one of their star players this month.
Soumare, who joined Lille on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, has been tipped to break into the senior France side.
In October, Lille president Gerard Lopez said: “He’s one of the very best at his job.
“He’s technical, with incredible physical power and wins a great deal of possession. He’s a modern no.6 or no.8. We’ll see him in the France team very soon.”
Soumare has two-and-a-half years left on his Lille deal.
Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon)
Tottenham and Manchester United went head-to-head to sign Fernandes last summer, but he remained in Portugal.
The 25-year-old has continued his impressive form this season, with six goals and seven assists in 14 Portuguese top-flight games.
In the Europa League, meanwhile, only Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos with six goals, has scored more than Fernandes’ five.
While he is not as defensive-minded as Sissoko, Fernandes could bring a much-needed creative spark to Tottenham’s midfield, with Christian Eriksen struggling for form and likely to leave either this month or in the summer.
Speaking about Tottenham’s interest in him last summer, Fernandes recently revealed he wanted to join the north London club.
He said: “Tottenham fit into everything I wish I had at that moment. It is an appealing championship.
“Knowing that Tottenham would be willing to pay for me and make every possible effort to take me, leaves a player eager to take that step.”
Adrien Rabiot (Juventus)
Tottenham were one of many clubs vying for Rabiot’s signature this time last year as he was set to be a free agent in the summer with his Paris Saint-Germain contract running out.
The Frenchman opted to join Juventus, but the move has not worked out, with his future in Turin already in doubt after just six months.
Rabiot has made only six league starts out of a possible 18 so far this season.
He is currently behind Miralem Pjanic, Aaron Ramsey, Blaise Matuidi and Rodrigo Bentancur in the pecking order at Juventus.
However, last week, Juventus chief football officer Fabio Paratici insisted the midfielder would not be leaving.
“Rabiot arrived here after not playing for eight months. It’s only natural on a physical level he should take time to adapt. He paid the price for that, but he has done well when used.
“We are confident, he is an important player and a guarantee for Juve, not a question mark or a doubt.
“We have an important squad, with a lot of competition for places, and that’s how it should be at this level.”
Maybe a loan away from the club to get him up to speed with his teammates will help…
Denis Zakaria (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Zakaria has starred in Borussia Monchengladbach’s unlikely title charge this season.
The defensive midfielder has started 15 of Monchengladbach’s 17 league games as they trail leaders RB Leipzig by two points.
Zakaria could provide the energy in Tottenham’s midfield which will be missed with Sissoko’s injury.
Monchengladbach director of sport Max Eberl insists he is not concerned about losing Zakaria to a big European club.
He said: “It’s a comfortable situation for all of us.
“Denis still has two-and-a-half years left of his contract, but he also knows that we would very much like to extend it.
“We know that his time here will come to an end at some point, but that doesn’t exclude a contract extension.”
Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
This one is a bit left field, but would still be a major coup for Tottenham.
Only a mega offer could tempt Leeds into selling Phillips, who has helped the club to first place in the Championship after 26 games.
The 24-year-old signed a new five-year deal at Elland Road in September after being linked with moves to Aston Villa and Tottenham.
Phillips reminded admirers of his quality when he shone in Leeds’ 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Arsenal on Monday.
He is highly regarded by Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa.
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham has backed Phillips to play for England one day, while admitting he is a player Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka ‘dreams of being’.
“In terms of midfield, there was a midfielder for Leeds who outshone everybody.
“It’s the player Granit Xhaka probably dreams of being.
“I think he could play for England as well. I don’t think there is any doubt.
“And if he had been in the Premier League this season, I think he would be in the England squad.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy was also full of praise for Phillips.
"There was a midfielder for #LUFC who outshone everybody."
"It's the player Granit Xhaka probably dreams of being."
"I think he could play for England."
@talkSPORTDrive and Danny Murphy on Leeds United star Kalvin Phillips.
pic.twitter.com/fh3QfS1l5H
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 7, 2020
“When the ball is getting knocked about between the back four and the keeper, that holding role is really, really important,” he explained.
“You have to be really cute and really clever and [Michael] Carrick was one of the best at it. How does someone always have time on the ball?
“Well it’s what they do before they receive the ball; movement to get into the space, the pace of the movement, when to go to the ball and when to stay away from the ball to lose your marker.
“[Mesut] Ozil was trying to keep track of him, but couldn’t get near him. And then his distribution was really good.”