Liverpool are reported in the Daily Mail to be showing an interest in landing Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama over the summer.
It is thought that the Kenyan star is being lined up as a replacement for Emre Can, who looks set to run his contract at Anfield down and move away on a free at the end of the current campaign.
Wanyama missed around four months of action with a knee injury earlier this term and has been used largely as a late substitute in the Premier League since his return at the beginning of January.
He scored in a recent clash with the Reds, a stunning long-range strike to help his side earn a 2-2 draw, but still does not seem to be a preferred choice for manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Liverpool arguably need a greater physical presence in the heart of their team but Spurs should not dismiss a player who was a major contributor to their best-ever Premier League season last time around.
Signed from Southampton in June 2016, Wanyama started 35 of the Lilywhites’ 38 top-flight matches as the club secured a second-placed finish with a credible 86 points.
The former Celtic man provided a shield in front of the defence and performed the role superbly even as Pochettino transitioned from a four-man backline to a three midway through the term.
It made little difference to the 26-year-old, whose reading of the game and appetite for a tackle provided the solid foundations in a more attacking Tottenham setup.
Moreover, his ability on the ball is often overlooked and his tidy short passing allows the more creative players around him to get on the ball and influence the match.
Wanyama is a genuine midfield destroyer and there is little sense in selling him to a league rival given that he still has many years left at the top level.
As his match sharpness improves, he can be a vital player for Spurs as the campaign enters its latter stages.