Tottenham consider January swoop for Franck Kessie to avoid battle for signature in summer

Tottenham are considering a move for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessié during the current transfer window to avoid a bidding war for him this summer.

The Ivory Coast international, 25, is out of contract at the San Siro in six months and can move on a Bosman free transfer, with other Premier League clubs and the likes of Paris Saint-Germain looking at his situation.

Spurs are weighing up a move this month while the mid-season window is open to land a player high on their list of transfer targets to bolster Antonio Conte’s midfield.

While they would need to pay a fee for Kessié rather than land him on a free, the competition in the summer is expected to drive up the overall outlay of signing the former Atalanta midfielder.

Conte would like to freshen up his squad for the second half of the season as Spurs push for a place in the top four of the Premier League under the Italian. While they are unbeaten in the league under Conte, he would still like a midfielder, attacker and right wing-back.

Adama Traore at Wolves is one player on Spurs’ wanted list, while Kessié is a central midfielder who is well-known to sporting director Fabio Paratici from his time with Juventus when the midfielder was establishing himself in Serie A.

Milan and Spurs have been in talks over Japhet Tanganga, who is wanted by the Italians as they look for centre-back cover. Kessié’s situation has loomed over his club while a new deal has not been agreed, meaning they risk losing him without a fee, three years after signing him in a £22million deal.

Steven Bergwijn has been a target for Ajax, with Conte saying after the Dutchman’s two goals to secure a dramatic win against Leicester: "I think I spoke about Steven in the past and I said he was an important player and he has specific characteristics for this team. Nobody has these types of characteristics."