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Tottenham are being strongly tipped to sign Torino defender Gleison Bremer in the January transfer window, with his club ready to buckle after failing to agree a new contract with the player.

The 24-year-old’s current deal runs out in 2023 but the Brazilian has so far resisted any attempts to extend his stay beyond then. To that end, a report from Calciomercato states that Torino are willing to offload Bremer in January.

However, the Italian oulet adds that the Serie A side will only let the player leave if they receive his £21.3million asking price.

Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici has been monitoring Bremer since the start of the season. Indeed, further reports have suggested that the Italian is desperate to bring the player to north London.

Antonio Conte is also a fan and knows he needs to upgrade his back three for Tottenham to get back to the top level.

Cristian Romero has been the club’s best central defender this season but is out until February. That leaves Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon battling it out for three spots.

Bremer, who has also been linked with Liverpool, has made 92 appearances for Torino. However, he is still awaiting his first cap for Brazil.

The £21.3m asking price for an established Serie A defender appears to be a snip. But there will be concerns over whether can adapt his game to English football.

With that in mind, Conte also remains interested in more experienced stars like Antonio Rudiger and Stefan De Vrij.

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Meanwhile, Tottenham have told Ajax to back off over a deal for Steven Bergwijn until the busy Christmas period has finished, according to a report.

The Dutch winger arrived in north London as a Jose Mourinho signing. He made an instant impact with a winning goal against Manchester City and scored three times in his first six league games.

However, he has only had a bit-part role since the start of last season, partly due to injury. What’s more, the arrival of Antonio Conte as manager has changed the landscape.

The coach denied rumours that he is not a big fan of Bergwijn. Instead, Conte insisted that the winger is a player who has “great quality” and vowed to count on him.

Nevertheless, he did admit that he would have liked more time to work with Bergwijn since his arrival as manager.

Alongside that, talk of a move back to the Netherlands has emerged for Bergwijn. This time, though, it is Ajax who want to sign him. Boss Erik Ten Hag in fact vowed to “investigate” the chances of a January transfer.

Speaking on a podcast for De Telegraaf, journalist Mike Verweij revealed that Bergwijn could move back to his home country.

The reporter said: “That interest has been known to Bergwijn’s management for weeks, because that’s how it always goes.

“Ajax will never let themselves down that they want to get a player and that player says: ‘All nice and nice, but I don’t want to go to Ajax at all.’

“Management is always contacted first to ask how the player would feel if an attempt is made. Bergwijn has indicated that he really likes Ajax.

“And now Spurs came to Ajax with the question whether the interest in Bergwijn is serious. The answer was affirmative.”

In response, Verweij revealed that Spurs – led by director of football Fabio Paratici – have hit back. The club have told Ajax to put their plans to one side until their busy Christmas fixture list is over.

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