Tottenham are hopeful of completing a deal for Porto forward Luis Diaz after missing out on Adama Traore, according to reports. Antonio Conte wanted to add Wolves ace Traore to his squad this month but the winger seems set to re-join Barcelona.
Tottenham will reportedly target Luis Diaz after missing out on Adama Traore (Image: GETTY)
Various reports suggested that Conte was keen to transition the 26-year-old into a wing-back role, in the same way he adapted Victor Moses’ position during his time with Chelsea.
But Spurs will now move on to other targets after missing out on Traore. According to the Evening Standard, the north Londoners are ‘optimistic’ about signing Porto’s Diaz.
The 25-year-old winger would be an excellent alternative to Traore, having scored 14 goals in 18 games in the Portuguese top-flight this season.
Conte is desperate to add quality to his squad and has on several occasions urged the club’s hierarchy to crack on with business.
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After Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea, the 52-year-old underlined the widening gap between Spurs and the Blues.
It was their third defeat against their London rivals in January, having also lost both of their EFL Cup semi-final clashes.
“I think that in the three games against Chelsea I think today was for me, for the effort in the game, I liked it maybe and also the second half in the second leg of the Carabao Cup we played a good game,” Conte said.
“We are improving playing against Chelsea but in this moment it's very difficult to face this type of squad, not team – because they don't have 11 players, they have 22 or 23 players of an important level.
“This is not the right moment to speak in front of media.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte is expecting new arrivals (Image: GETTY)
“The club knows very well what I think and the time we need to close this gap, because it does not take one transfer window to close the gap.
“I think in the last few years, this gap became very, very big and it’s not simple to find a solution. For this reason, I am only focused on the players who work until the end.
“We will see, we have four months to give everything, but if we think we can solve the situation in the transfer market, it is not reality.
“You need many years, for sure we can start and we have to start, because in the last few years the level of the squad decreased instead of improving.”