Mateta, for his part, is eager to leave Crystal Palace this month as he persists in declining to put pen to paper on fresh terms at Selhurst Park. Mateta has been touted for a Serie A move with Juventus and AC Milan both showing interest.
Recent reports from Italy suggest he would prefer a switch to the San Siro over Nottingham Forest, who have submitted a £35million offer that falls marginally short of Palace’s valuation. Sterling, who has been sidelined in recent months, is now a free agent, with Napoli, Juventus and Burnley reportedly keen on acquiring the England international.
Given their apparent availability and Spurs’ shortage of attacking options, Thomas Frank’s side have been linked with potential moves for the duo, but there is no substance to either joining the north London outfit before the 7pm deadline on Monday, February 2.
However, the Lilywhites remain intent on securing additional signings, with that position echoed by Frank’s most recent transfer remarks. He said: “We are in the market.
“We do everything we can to see if we can improve the squad. We said that the whole time. I think it’s, of course, when things are not exactly what we wanted and we have some injuries, you can be pushed and forced to take decisions you don’t really want to take if everything was on top.
“So we need to be very, very smart and cool and calm and take good decisions to help us to optimise short-term success, but also secure long-term success.”
Injury concerns in the middle of the park have also seen Leon Goretzka linked despite the arrival of Gallagher. The 30-year-old is poised to depart Bayern Munich when his contract runs out in the summer, but it presently appears improbable that Spurs will be pursuing a transfer.
Departures are also a possibility, with Mathys Tel eager to leave the club unless Frank is dismissed. According to Sky Sport Germany, he feels unfairly treated by the Spurs manager.
His frustration is likely rooted in being dropped from the Champions League squad to make way for Dominic Solanke following his comeback from injury – having already been overlooked in favour of the Tottenham striker initially. Despite putting in strong performances whenever called upon this campaign, Tel has found opportunities few and far between, even with a number of attacking players sidelined through injury.