Tottenham Hotspur Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of December 22

The transfer window is almost here, and Spurs fans are awaiting January 1 with great anticipation. 

The team has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks with defeats against Chelsea and Besiktas the only disappointments in almost two months. 

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has his team playing an improved style of football, and the return of Kyle Walker has made a significant difference in attack. 

The injury to Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb's imminent departure to the African Cup of Nations could prompt Pochettino to push for reinforcements in midfield while Spurs' continued striking strife could also be resolved next month. 

Spurs are unlikely to have a particularly busy window, but a handful of deals could take place. 

Last updated: December 23

Dier to Make Surprising Loan Exit?

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Eric Dier has a bright future at Tottenham Hotspur. 

The 20-year-old defender made the best possible start to his Spurs career when he scored the winner at Upton Park on opening day. 

However, his immediate future is a little unclear. 

With the first-choice pair of Jan Vertonghen and Federico Fazio virtually set in stone, Dier is competing with club captain Younes Kaboul and Romanian enigma Vlad Chiriches. 

The Standard are reporting that Mauricio Pochettino will respond by sanctioning a loan move in January. 

Dier's departure would be in the vein of Kyle Walker's loans at QPR and Aston Villa several years ago. 

Those spells enabled Spurs to fast-track his development without risk. Equally, neither Villa nor Rangers were under any illusion that Walker was available on a permanent basis. The same would be true of Dier. 

Spurs Having Difficulty Finding Buyers

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Tottenham have a large first-team squad. They named a full 25-man roster in September and would likely have to sell in order to accommodate any new signings. 

Players like Aaron Lennon, Paulinho, Moussa Dembele, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kyle Naughton and Andros Townsend could all find new homes in January. While Spurs won't sell them all, some will surely move on as they are likely to play only limited roles going forward. 

The difficulty for Spurs is finding clubs to pay for the players that they have deemed no longer of the necessary quality. 

According to 101 Great Goals, Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has denied reports that he was interested in signing Lennon. Mancini told reporters: "We have not talked about him. This is not part of our plans."

Those comments are an obvious blow to Spurs' hopes of offloading Lennon. 

The Daily Telegraph reports that Lennon could be on his way across London in a reunion with former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp at QPR.

While Lennon rejected the same move in the summer, his lack of game time so far this season may have convinced him that Redknapp's Rangers are not so far beneath him. 

A Move for French International Full-Back?

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Spurs have a very solid stable of full-backs right now so James Nursey of the Daily Mirror's report that they will attempt to sign Aly Cissokho from Aston Villa is something of a surprise. 

Ben Davies and Danny Rose are a reliable duo at left-back while Pochettino is virtually overwhelmed with right-back options. Walker, Naughton and DeAndre Yedlin are primarily right-backs while Eric Dier and Vlad Chiriches have shown a capacity to fill in there this season. 

Cissokho comes with a higher pedigree than any of those, bar Walker, having played for Liverpool, Porto and Lyon before moving to Villa. 

He was rather poor in his loan season at Liverpool, but Cissokho has been an improved player for Villa, and losing him would be a blow to their Premier League campaign. 

Napoli are also reportedly interested in Cissokho and could probably offer guarantees of first-team football that Spurs couldn't. 

This is an odd rumour, and it likely won't come to pass, but Cissokho's arrival would probably signal the end of Rose's Spurs career given that three left-backs is an extravagance that they simply cannot afford. 

Spurs Cool on J-Rod, Move on to Berahino

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

Tottenham have been heavily linked with Jay Rodriguez since Pochettino was first appointed.

Rodriguez, a star in Pochettino's first full season at Southampton, has been seen as a player that could hasten Spurs' transition into the Argentinian's style of play.

The knee injury that Rodriguez suffered last season made it difficult to complete a move in the summer, but Spurs were widely expected to return with a new bid in January, per Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph.

Rodriguez has now suffered a setback in his recovery and will likely not be available until February.

Sami Mokbel of the Mail Online suggests that this setback has caused Spurs to shift their attention to West Bromwich Albion forward Saido Berahino.  

The striker made a brilliant start to the season, earning his first England call-up in November. He was not selected, but it was a landmark moment in his fledgling career.

Berahino reached eight goals in October with a penalty against Crystal Palace, but he has failed to score since. 

The Baggies have played nine games and scored just six goals in the ensuing months so Berahino can hardly be solely blamed for his lack of scoring form; however, it is something of a concern for a £25 million-rated striker.