Tottenham have been given further encouragement to make a move for Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer.
Head coach Jose Mourinho is looking at his central midfield area, with limited options in that part of the park.
Hojbjerg has been linked with a move to Spurs this summer, with his contract at St Mary's Stadium due to end in 2021.
And Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl gave Spurs encouragement earlier this week when he said: "We must look at what we have. I think we should avoid letting players go without a transfer fee. This is what we should avoid.
"It’s not good to go into the last year of your contract – especially as a young player with a big future.
"This is not the ideal situation, but we have opportunities to handle it and we will have talks with other players and find a decision."
Tottenham would face competition from the likes of Everton if they were to make a move for the 24-year-old this summer.
With finances set to be tight as a result of the coronavirus crisis, Hojbjerg could be seen as a reasonable cheap option.
And Spurs have been given further encouragement about his availability by Southampton chief executive Martin Semmens.
Speaking on BBC Solent Sport, he said: "It's about having the characters around you. He is that kind of character that under any circumstance he'll give 100% on the pitch. He's fully committed to getting through this season and winning those nine games.
"When it comes to the transfer window, it's a strange time.
"Let's be clear about Pierre, he's been absolutely up front with us and everybody publicly that he sees himself at the very highest level of football. He wants to win the league, he wants to win the Champions League either with us or somebody else and at some point he's going to either have to drive us to that level or move somewhere else to do it.
"If there's a club out there that can win the Champions League and they think Pierre can improve their team, if they can pay for him then in the end we have to let him go."
