£25m player called the “new Pirlo” would like to join Tottenham in January

Tottenham Hotspur have been tipped to bolster their ranks in January, and it is now believed that one player in particular would be in favour of a switch to north London next month.

Tottenham reach Carabao Cup semi-finals after 4-3 Man United thriller

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was a very relieved man after his side scraped into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night, with the Lilywhites beating Man United 4-3 in a thrilling clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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The Dutchman has been sidelined again.

Summer signing Dominic Solanke showed exactly why Daniel Levy gave the green-light for his £65 million transfer, as the striker bagged an impressive brace with two excellent finishes past Altay Bayindir in the Red Devils goal.

The ex-Bournemouth talisman wasn’t their only standout performer on a memorable night for Spurs, with this season’s superstar Dejan Kulusevski also getting on the scoresheet just after half-time and all but cementing their place in the next round.

Postecoglou was given a major scare when United brought it back to 3-2, courtesy of two major errors from goalkeeper Fraser Forster, but Son Heung-min gave them some much-needed breathing room on 88 minutes with his first and Tottenham’s fourth of the game.

Veteran Jonny Evans grabbed a very late consolation for United, but it was too little, too late, with Spurs now set to face Premier League leaders Liverpool over two legs to determine who will make it to the final at Wembley next year.

“We played so well, well in control of the game,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham’s 4-3 win over United, reflecting on the two errors which made things that bit more nervy.

“It’s the way our season has gone a little bit, we self-inflicted some pain on ourselves, and then we had to scramble to get a foothold again. Ended up getting a fourth and winning the game. It should have been a lot more comfortable than it ended up being, but having said that, I still can’t get away from the fact this group of players is doing an unbelievable job at the moment to get us through this. The fact we again scored four goals and played some outstanding football. We got tired in the second half because we have a small number of players we keep putting out there.

“Obviously made it tighter than the game should have been. So proud of the players efforts.”

Nicolo Fagioli would be keen to join Tottenham from Juventus

In the background, technical director Johan Lange and the Spurs recruitment team are thinking of ways to potentially back Postecoglou with fresh faces next month.

Some reports have previously suggested that Tottenham could be offered the chance to Nicolo Fagioli from Juventus in January, with the Italy international’s agents scouring for potential landing spots amid his lack of game time in Turin.

Now, Italian newspaper TuttoSport, as relayed by Il Bianconero and Sport Witness, have shared a fresh update on their links to the midfielder.

They write that Fagioli would prefer a move to a prestigious suitor like Tottenham, despite approaches from a trio of their London rivals, but it will cost Levy around £25 million to secure a deal for the player who has been likened to Italian footballing legend Andrea Pirlo.

“I have always admired Nicolò,” said Miralem Pjanic in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport last year.

“He must continue to work like this and remain humble. Allegri and his staff will help him become a top midfielder of international caliber. Fagioli is the present and future of Italy.

“Is he the new Pirlo? Well, if Andrea says so, I too had foreseen that Fagioli would become a protagonist at Juventus.”

The 23-year-old hasn’t exactly gone on to become a key player at Juve, but as with the likes of Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, perhaps Fagioli could reignite his career by moving to Tottenham.