Tottenham can sign ideal January recruit by moving for West Ham target

The January transfer window rolls on, speculation continues and still no new faces have arrived at Tottenham Hotspur to bolster Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

While this trend may well continue until the end of the month, there is a line of thought that Spurs may look to sign an attacking reinforcement mid-season – especially as Georges-Kevin Nkoudou has joined Burnley on loan.

Despite a host of names being mentioned as potential Tottenham targets, it could well be one that has not been touted that would fit the bill.

The Telegraph report today that West Ham United have made a loan approach for Portugal international Joao Mario, that the player is weighing up a move to the Hammers and that Inter are happy to send the 24-year-old out to a temporary employer for the remainder of the campaign.

I wrote yesterday about the baffling reasons why top teams like Tottenham do not make more use of the loan market – and Mario serves as another example to prove my point.

The Portugal international is a Euro 2016 winner with plenty of experience at the top level for club and country. He is versatile enough to cover a number of positions and he cost Inter the guts of £40 million.

With big games on the horizon and an over-reliance on a few talented individuals in attack, Tottenham’s players and fans would surely be delighted to see a new face arrive this month.

But, instead of signing an uncapped and unproven option like Malcom for a club-record fee, I would be happier and more confident seeing a more-experienced and rounded option like Mario arrive at Spurs on loan.

Mario is seemingly available and would provide quality and strength in depth at Tottenham – why wouldn’t Spurs make a move for him?