Imagining How Tottenham Would Best Use Transfer Target Yevhen Konoplyanka

The January transfer window is rarely a place to salvage a season.

With many of the best players too valuable to their current clubs, it becomes difficult to find quality that is actually available. 

Happily, Tottenham's campaign is humming along nicely. 

With Harry Kane suddenly reaching maturity as a Premier League striker and his teammates embracing the aggressive style of Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs remain in the hunt in all four competitions. 

What Spurs need in January is not an overhaul but some careful strengthening in key positions.

That is achievable even in the winter window.  

Pochettino claims that Spurs will not make any additions to the squad this month, but newspaper reports suggest that they will attempt to sign both Winston Reid and Yevhen Konoplyanka to pre-contract deals with an eye to a summer arrival. 

Reid, the West Ham and New Zealand centre-back, would bolster Spurs' defensive capacity and provide some insurance against the potential departure of Jan Vertonghen. The value he would provide to Tottenham has been more closely examined here. 

Konoplyanka has has been a transfer target of many European clubs since Euro 2012, when he played a starring role for the Ukraine. 

Twelve months ago, Liverpool's attempt to buy him broke down despite the Reds offering £16 million, which should have activated his buyout clause. 

Tottenham have also been linked with his signature for some time. Reports in March of 2014 suggested that negotiations between Spurs and Dnipro were well underway. 

If Spurs were willing, Dnipro would reportedly sell Konoplyanka for as little as £7 million now in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer before next season. 

Most Spurs fans have seen at least 180 minutes of Konoplyanka after the Europa League tie between Tottenham and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk last season. England fans will be even more familiar after Ukraine's visit to Wembley in 2012. 

Konoplyanka would give Spurs a different dimension in attack. His loose running style would be under significant pressure from aggressive Premier League defenders and his insistence on attempting to trick his way past tackles could see him lose possession more often than would be acceptable. 

Similarly to Dynamo Moscow winger Mathieu Valbuena, Konoplyanka's chief assets are his skill and deceptive pace. Also like Valbuena though, that flair belies a toughness which would make him suitable to English football. 

Konoplyanka is a strong and mightily skillful player. His tactical flexibility would endear him to Pochettino and likely allow him to fit in with players like Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli, who are equally comfortable drifting across the pitch. 

He is not a prolific goalscorer but provides a reliable threat from wide positions. His eight goals in 40 appearances for the Ukraine is comparable with Theo Walcott's five in 36 for England. Last season, Konoplyanka delivered 13 goals in 36 games for Dnipro. 

He has not enjoyed his best season in 2014-15, although his club sit third in Ukraine's Premier League. He's scored just four league goals and failed to register in the Europa League, where Dynamo squeaked through  a relatively simple group. 

Signing Konoplyanka to a pre-contract, even with a significant signing bonus, would be a master-stroke. 

There is little doubt that he would be a significant upgrade on Aaron Lennon and his arrival would facilitate the sale of the little Englishman. Spurs would likely make a profit on the deal. 

Tottenham face serious competition for what would represent a brilliant free transfer signing. Major clubs across Europe are aware of his potential and his minimal price. 

Konoplyanka would need to undergo demanding physical and mental preparation in order to meet Pochettino's demands. The Argentinian dropped players like Eriksen and Vertonghen in the past and would have no hesitation to do the same with Konoplyanka if he felt that the Ukrainian was not delivering. 

If Konoplyanka were to grasp Pochettino's complex game plans and achieve the requisite levels of fitness, Spurs would have an incredible player. His obvious talents, in combination with discipline and footballing acumen would give Spurs a reliable alternative to the enigmatic Erik Lamela. Pochettino would be able to shape his starting lineup and his substitutions to better effect, knowing the quality he would have at his disposal. 

Spurs should make the move for Konoplyanka now. Whether they sign him to a pre-contract or pay the £7 million to acquire him immediately, they must pull the trigger on this deal. Rarely will international-quality players be available for so little. Konoplyanka would strengthen Spurs' squad and allow for the departure of payers that are contributing little to the team; it is a win-win and should be Spurs' top priority this January.