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Tom Leach

The shirt numbers available to Carlos Vinicius when he completes Tottenham transfer

Tottenham Hotspur are close to completing a loan deal for Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius.

As revealed by football.london earlier in the day, the north London outfit are finally closing in on agreeing a deal for a new forward more than 14 months after Fernando Llorente left the club on a free transfer.

Spurs have narrowed down their striker search in recent weeks to a number of players competing across Europe's leagues.

Among the names linked include Torino captain Andrea Belotti, Metz striker Habib Diallo and Benfica's Haris Seferovic.

Meanwhile, the club retain an interest in Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik and while the Poland international is not currently the club's main choice, he remains an option after being offered to a number of teams in the Premier League after his move to Roma collapsed.

However, the identity of Jose Mourinho's number one target can now be revealed.

And with the 25-year-old striker due in London for his medical today, here are the squad numbers that are available to him should he put pen to paper on a Spurs deal.

No. 13

Usually a number reserved for the second-choice goalkeeper in the squad, the number 13 was made vacant this summer following Michel Vorm's exit.

Joe Hart may have been expected to take this number upon his arrival on a free transfer but opted for the number 12 shirt, so 13 is still available.

And there have been Premier League strikers in the past wearing that number, most recently Callum Wilson.

No. 14

Another number that has become available this summer following Georges-Kevin Nkoudou's exit, Spurs haven't really had a star in the shirt since Luka Modric.

Across north London, the number 14 is iconic for Arsenal having previously been graced by Thierry Henry and now being worn by club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Since the aforementioned Modric, Spurs haven't had too much success with this number but could Vinicius, as a striker, be interested in making it his own?

No. 16

With Kyle Walker-Peters having joined Southampton, the number 16 is available for Vinicius to take if he wants a rather unorthodox choice.

New signing Gareth Bale was tipped to wear this number, his old number, once again upon his return but he has instead chosen number nine.

The number has been worn by Kyle Walker, Iago Falque, Kyle Naughton and Kieran Trippier in the past.

No. 26

The only other number left between one and 30, if Jose Mourinho wants to keep his squad looking smart he could ask the 25-year-old to chose number 26 to keep his squad looking smart.

Ledley King has, in the past, wore the number 26 shirt as he helped Spurs to Carling Cup glory - their last major trophy.

It has also been worn by Neil Young, Jason Cundy, Paul Mahorn and Paul McVeigh.

No. 95

Vinicius could well pick the number that he has worn during his time at Benfica, number 95.

That would mean he wears the highest number in the squad, well above Jack Clarke and his number 47 jersey.

He would also break the record for the highest ever squad number in Premier League history.

To date, the highest number worn by a player in the Premier League is 78, by Manchester City's Jose Angel Pozo back in 2014.

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