Tottenham Hotspur are set to pounce for Barcelona’s Brazilian forward Malcom to ease their attacking unavailability crisis, according to the Independent.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino has long been an admirer of the creative South American and he was rumoured to be interested in signing him last summer before his move to Camp Nou
With The Tottenham squad stretched by key injuries and Son Heung Min’s absence due to the Asian Cup, Pochettino clearly feels now is the time to act.
With startstriker Harry Kane expected to be out until the beginning of March, Spurs have been left short of firepower.
The Independent reports that Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy have been in meetings over the last few days to decide on potential incomings.
Malcom is 21 years old and has yet to win full international recognition.
The talented forward moved from Bordeaux to Barcelona in July 2018, having made 84 appearances and scored 20 goals in his time in France.
Thus far he has only made five appearances for Barcelona and it seems like their coach Ernesto Valverde does not see Malcom as part of his plans.
The Brazilian can play in all three positions across the forward line and in the number ten role – this may be seen as early planning for the possible departure of Christian Eriksen.
He is creative, beats players and most importantly fits in perfectly with Tottenham’s transfer strategy.
Barcelona are believed to prefer selling him to recoup the €41m they paid for him last summer, but it is understood that they would expect a loan with a view to a permanent move.
Tottenham have been linked with a host of forwards in the last few days since the severity of Kane’s injury has been known.
Malcom could be an intelligent signing but given that the Brazilian will take time to get up to speed in English football, Pochettino will surely be relying on the likes of Dele Alli, Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Fernando Llorente and Lucas Moura to fire the club to continued success.