Southampton and Tottenham Monitoring Dortmund's Sven Bender

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender has been reported to be a new transfer target for both Southampton and Tottenham by MailOnline's Rob Draper.

The 26-year-old is coming from a poor 2014-15 season, where he looked to be but a shell of his old self.

A mix of injuries and the poor form of the whole team certainly aided in Bender’s decline. Nonetheless, if the German international manages to perform like he did in 2013, he should be a welcome addition to either club.

Bender was instrumental in Dortmund’s Champions League run in 2013 and certainly caused Joachim Low some headaches before the national team selection for the 2014 World Cup.

However, an injury sidelined Bender towards the end of the 2013-14 season, and he hasn’t been the same since.

He totaled 32 appearances for Dortmund in 2014-15, coming off the bench in almost a third of those occasions.

Despite the decline in his form, Bender is still a key player for the German side. That makes it highly unlikely that Dortmund will let a talent like him go away cheaply.

According to Draper, Bender’s value for Dortmund should be around £20 million. Paying that much could turn out to be worth it, but it is still a hefty fee.

Taking the Spurs’ depth at the defensive midfielder position in consideration, it seems more reasonable that Southampton would be the side more willing to pay the price for Bender.

Tottenham’s boss, Mauricio Pochettino, has quite a few players able to play the position on his roster. Etienne Capoue, Moussa Dembele and Paulinho are just a few of the names at his disposal.

Perhaps the Tottenham boss and his staff should concentrate on finding a replacement for Harry Kane, who could be on his way out, rather than spending their money on Bender.

Southampton, on the other hand, could use a guy like Bender.

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The Saints only have a couple of natural defensive midfielders in Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama, and neither of them is at the same level as Bender yet.

Southampton’s interest in Bender could also end up increasing soon, as the Mirror's Alex Cook reports that Schneiderlin is a target for both Manchester United and Arsenal.

Regardless of where he is needed most or where he would fit better, Bender will not leave the Signal Iduna Park until new Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has assessed his squad, according to Express.

The German international’s contract with Dortmund runs until 2017.