Juventus eye Tottenham fringe player to replace Paul Pogba - sources
By Editor Wayne Veysey | 17 years experience of breaking major stories at Evening Standard, PA and Goal, including exclusives like this
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Juventus are keeping close tabs on unsettled Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, Football Insider sources understand.
The Serie A champions have been alerted to the availability of the 21-year-old, who has slipped down the pecking order at White Hart Lane.
A source close to the situation has told Football Insider that Juventus are closely monitoring Bentaleb as they look to fill the central midfield void left by Manchester United-bound Paul Pogba.
Sky Sports claimed on their website on Sunday that Pogba has been given permission by Juventus to have a medical at United and seal a world record deal.
The Serie A giants are eyeing Bentaleb as a midfielder with the calibre and potential to play in their first team.
Football Insider revealed last month that Bentaleb was one of seven senior players that Mauricio Pochettino was ready to cash in on as he overhauled the first-team squad.
Playmaker Alex Pritchard has subsequently completed an £8million move to Norwich, while defender Federicio Fazio has joined Roma in a loan-to-buy deal.
Bentaleb did not go on the club's pre-season tour of Australia and was also omitted from the squad that flew to Oslo for last Friday's friendly against Inter Milan, which they won 6-1.
Tottenham are ready to sell Bentaleb for around £10million even though he signed a new five-year contract last year.
Bentaleb made just five Spurs starts in an injury-hit campaign last season after falling behind Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason even when fit.
Pochettino has subsequently signed Victor Wanyama from former club Southampton to increase the competition for central midfield spots even further and one of the shining lights of the 2014-15 campaign is now set to head out of White Hart Lane.
Bentaleb signed a new five-year deal last July on vastly improved terms and is said to earn more than Harry Kane and Dele Alli, who both had outstanding seasons and were named in the PFA Team of the Year.
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