The next stage of Fabio Paratici's Tottenham rebuild could possibly see Dele Alli bid farewell to the club in January.
Making a host of changes in the summer with experienced players such as Toby Alderweireld, Serge Aurier, Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela moving on and some fresh faces coming in, the club's managing director of football will be hoping to make further changes come the winter transfer window.
Now just under three weeks away from the transfer window reopening for business once again, Paratici and new Spurs head coach Antonio Conte will have an idea of what exactly they want to do.
Incomings will certainly be on the agenda with a couple of positions priorities for the Lilywhites if they are to move forward under the Italian, with outgoings then also required as some players aren't getting sufficient game time.
Alli is one of those who falls into the latter category, with The Athletic and The Telegraph claiming that he has been given the green light to depart at the turn of the year.
A departure for the 25-year-old would have seemed unthinkable only a few years ago due to his integral role in the Tottenham team but he has suffered a huge drop in form and lost his place in the team as a result.
Alli was in the headlines for the majority of last season following just 15 Premier League appearances across the entire campaign, with 10 of those coming during Jose Mourinho's tenure.
The ex-MK Dons man even missed out on the matchday squad 11 times in the league under the Portuguese when fully fit, thus highlighting his dramatic fall from grace at Tottenham having previously played so well just behind Harry Kane and netting some very important goals for the club.
Working hard over the summer and initially forcing his way back into the team during Nuno Espirito Santo's short reign, the attacking midfielder has only played in two matches for Conte since the managerial change and his current situation doesn't look like changing for the better anytime soon.
That in turn could now lead to a January departure, whether that be on loan or on a permanent basis.
However, the problem with parting with Alli on a permanent basis in January is that his transfer value has plummeted over the past three years due to his huge drop-off in form.
Valued at £90m by Transfermarkt in December 2018 and now valued at £27m, that figure could yet decrease by a few more million as their latest valuations for the final month of the year are still to be released.
Extremely unlikely to get a sizeable fee for him now due to his lack of football and having lost his place in Gareth Southgate's England squad, a departure on loan may be wise in January before he moves on for good permanently.
Jesse Lingard showed what the right loan move can do for a player as he was transformed by his switch from Manchester United to West Ham at the start of 2021.
Having only played in three cup games for the Red Devils in the first few months of the season and only making their Premier League squad on four occasions, he headed to West Ham and instantly made his mark with a debut double in a brilliant 3-1 win away at Aston Villa.
The goals continued to flow for the attacker, with Tottenham one of his victims in February, as he ended his loan spell with nine goals and five assists from 16 Premier League games.
Not even considered to be in the running for a spot in England's Euro 2020 squad a few months earlier given his situation at Old Trafford, the 28-year-old earned a deserved call-up to Southgate's preliminary squad before he was cruelly left out of their final 26-man party for the tournament.
Reportedly valued at £30m by Manchester United last summer following his upturn in form despite only having one year left on his deal, a permanent move away never came to fruition and now he looks set to depart for nothing come July unless he moves on in a cut-price deal in January.
Rather than parting with Alli at the turn of the year as Daniel Levy won't be able to command such a high fee for the player despite his tough negotiating skills, a loan move may suit all parties so they can then take stock of the situation at the end of the season.
A successful loan move would only see the player's transfer value rise again, thus potentially increasing Spurs' summer budget in the process if they decide to part with him.
Needing a fresh challenge to help get his career back on track, many believe that Alli could follow in the footsteps of Lingard 12 months on and rediscover his top form away from his parent club.
Tottenham need to find a solution rather quickly as Alli's current predicament cannot continue.
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