Liverpool and Tottenham face a fight to secure either of their top two transfer targets…
Both Liverpool and Tottenham are believed to be chasing a striker in the January transfer window, and according to reports in the Daily Mail, they could be left to battle it out over the same two targets – Jackson Martinez and Saido Berahino.
Colombian forward Martinez, who has scored consistently and impressively for Porto over the last couple of years, is up for grabs for a fee in the region of £30m, while West Brom are set to demand at least £25m for their top scorer, who has found the net seven times so far this year.
Spurs may be able to do a deal with Porto whereby they only pay £20m in a deal that sees Roberto Soldado go the other way, although part exchange deals are always hard to finalise especially mid-season.
The decisive factor which could swing both deals in Liverpool’s favour, may rest on whether the Reds are able to secure progress beyond the Champions League group stage, for which they require a win on Tuesday against Basel.
Luis Suarez’s summer departure, and Daniel Sturridge’s ongoing injury issues, have left Liverpool short on goals this season, while Spurs have endured similar problems, as their striking trio of Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor and Harry Kane, struggle for consistency.
Liverpool are of course, well accustomed to transfer battles with the North London side, having gone head to head with the White Hart Lane outfit over several deals in recent years – including most recently – Clint Dempsey and Gylfi Sigurdsson.