COMMENT By Will Butcher

Tottenham must go head-to-head with north London rivals Arsenal in a bid to sign Barcelona's versatile midfielder Rafinha this summer.

Sky Sports transfer expert Kaveh Solhekol claimed on his personal Twitter account that Ernesto Valverde's side are willing to accept bids worth more than £26.9million from interested parties.

It is said that the Gunners have been offered a chance to sign the five-time Brazil international this summer, after already completing deals for Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac.

Spurs are yet to complete a signing this summer but are likely to delve into the coffers at Wembley in order to boost their chances of winning the Premier League come May 2018.

Football Insider examines just how Spurs must rival their north London counterparts to lure the former Celta Vigo ace to Mauricio Pochettino's side.

Here are three reasons why, including how Rafinha can offer Spurs something that they are currently missing:

Versatility in final third

Last season, Rafinha made a total of 28 league and cup appearances for the Spanish giants, but in a variety of different positions under Luis Enrique.

Most naturally a central midfielder, Rafinha made half of those 28 outings in the middle of the park, 13 as a right winger and one on the left flank.

That ability to offer quality in three different areas of the pitch will give Pochettino options next season, allowing him to tinker his side as he does so often.

Champions League knowledge

Barcelona's number 12 has plenty of Champions League experience already under his belt, including a winners' medal from the 2014-15 triumph over Juventus.

Making 16 career appearances in the competition, Rafinha has also scored in the UEFA Supercup during an enthralling 5-4 win over Sevilla in 2015 after extra time.

With Spurs performing dismally in the competition last season, Rafinha's presence could help the north Londoners go one better and reach the knockout stages of the competition.

nextpage

Something different in the middle of the park

Of Spurs four central-midfield options, none have the goalscoring effect that Pochettino is crying out for.

Victor Wanyama scored five times, but Eric Dier, Harry Winks and Mousa Dembele amassed a total of just four strikes between them.

Bringing Rafinha to Spurs would give them a more attacking outlook from central midfield, after he scored seven goals and laid on five assists for Barca last season.

In other Tottenham transfer news, Spurs would push themselves even closer to Premier League glory by re-signing this attacker.

We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Tottenham breaking news.