Tottenham to battle Liverpool over deal to sign £80m star as Mourinho plots overhaul

Tottenham are ready to battle it out with Liverpool over the signing of £80m-rated Benfica star Ruben Dias as Jose Mourinho plots a summer spending spree, according to the Express.

Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino as Tottenham manager in November and strengthened the squad with the signings of midfielder Gedson Fernandes and attacker Steven Bergwijn in January.

However, the Portuguese coach is gearing-up for a much busier summer as he continues to reshape the squad left behind by Pochettino with the Express suggesting he’s ready to spend around £120m overhauling his ageing defence.

The newspaper says Tottenham are eyeing a move for £15m-rated Norwich right-back Max Aarons while Nice star Youcef Atal is another target who could be snapped-up for around £25m.

However, another centre-back is a priority for Mourinho and the report says Dias is a key target as the Spurs boss looks to bring in a long-term replacement for 32-year-old Jan Vertonghen – who’s out of contract in June and is yet to sign a new deal.

However, Tottenham aren’t the only club in the running for his signature as the Express says Liverpool are also among the clubs showing a keen interest in signing the Portuguese international this summer.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are storming their way to the Premier League title but despite Joe Gomez and Joel Matip impressing alongside Virgil van Dijk at times this season, it appears the Liverpool coach is still eyeing a move to sign Dias.

The 22-year-old won’t come cheap as the Express suggests Benfica will demand the full value of his £80m buy-out clause but it could be money well spent as Dias has developed into one of the best young centre-backs in Europe in recent years.

Having progressed through the Benfica youth system, Dias is now a key player in Bruno Lage’s starting eleven and he’s expected to be in the Portugal squad for Euro 2020 having earned 16 caps for his country so far.

Obviously a move to Liverpool would appeal to Dias but he shares the same agent [Jorge Mendes] as Mourinho so the Tottenham boss may feel he has the edge in the race to sign the sought-after defender this summer.