Sergio Reguilon has made quite the impression at Tottenham this season.
The Spanish full-back joined Tottenham from Real Madrid at the same time as Gareth Bale returned to the club on a season-long loan.
But while Bale's arrival grabbed the headlines, Spurs' deal to sign Reguilon went somewhat under the radar, although it has been the 24-year-old who has been the more permanent fixture in the Tottenham side this season.
He has played 30 times for Spurs and earned rave reviews for his performances at left-back since taking the number three shirt previously worn by Danny Rose.
Reguilon has largely made the left-back slot his own and has impressed Tottenham fans, who would like to see him stay at the club for a long time.
However, there is a potential hitch for Spurs, after they, uncharacteristically, agreed to a buy-back clause as part of the deal to sign Reguilon last summer.
Real Madrid allowed him to leave the club following an impressive loan spell at Sevilla, during which he helped them win the Europa League and finish fourth in La Liga, while being voted as the best left-back in the Spanish league.
However, Real Madrid would only let him go with a buy-back clause inserted into the deal, which was worth just under £28million to Spurs.
football.london understands that the clause states that Real can buy back Reguilon either this summer [2021] or in the summer of 2022, with Spurs making a healthy profit of around £15million.
However, Reguilon must of course agree to such a move should Real return for him and the hope within Tottenham is that he will be happy to stay, having adapted and settled in the Premier League.
Certainly, Reguilon seems happy among his team-mates at Spurs and is regularly seen with a smile on his face and a spring in his step at the Tottenham training ground and on matchdays.
In addition, playing in England has not hampered his opportunities at international level, with Reguilon featuring five times for Spain during the current season.
Spurs see Reguilon and Hoffenheim loanee Ryan Sessegnon as the long-term options at left-back, with Ben Davies and Dennis Cirkin also competing for places.
And Spurs' hopes of keeping Reguilon look set to be boosted by Real Madrid's current financial situation, with inews recently reporting that the La Liga giants have a financial deficit of £150million and needed the proposed European Super League to go ahead, with the financial gains on offer as part of the planned new league.
That would seemingly make big money signings less likely for Real Madrid this summer, and with boss Zinedine Zidane stating at the time of Reguilon's move that he already had two full-backs and that the Spaniard was not required, the likelihood of a return to the Spanish capital this summer is not very high.
That would mean Real's loss is Tottenham's gain, with Reguilon looking set to form part of the club's long-term plan for the left-back spot.
Indeed, Spurs believe that in Reguilon and Sessegnon, with the guidance of Davies and the potential of Cirkin, they have their left-back spot sorted for the next few years and eventually will have two of the world's best young full-backs fighting it out to start.
