Tottenham Hotspur Reportedly Planning Summer Swoop for Abdoulaye Doucoure

Tottenham Hotspur are set to make a bid for Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure in the summer, per Kieran Gill for the Daily Mail. 

The 25-year-old has been in impressive form this season for the Hornets, prompting interest from Spurs following manager Mauricio Pochettino's scouting mission to Vicarage Road to watch Watford beat Chelsea 4-1 on Monday, per Gill.

But Watford are keen to tie the Frenchman down to a new contract in the hope of warding off suitors, and they are reportedly set to offer Doucoure a deal worth over £60,000 per week. His current deal is set to expire in 2020.

Reports that Doucoure is to be offered a new deal have circulated since December, when Mike Walters for the Mirror noted the club had begun talks with the midfielder.

Watford were adamant they were not going to sell Doucoure for any price in the January transfer window, but Spurs' reported interest in a summer move could change things.

Tottenham have plenty of midfielders in their squad, although Eric Dier's recent form has been criticised, and Victor Wanyama's knee cartilage injury has restricted him to just one Premier League start in 2017/18.

Therefore, their interest in Doucoure is hardly surprising. The 25-year-old, who has scored seven league goals in 25 matches, completes the most passes in the squad, per WhoScored.com. A box-to-box player, he is also strong from a defensive standpoint, completing more tackles and interceptions (3.9) than any other Watford player bar right-back Daryl Janmaat.

Doucoure also appears to be getting better with age. He is on track to play more minutes of league football this campaign than at any other point in his career (2,250 minutes so far) and grabbed his first two assists of the season in the 4-1 win over Chelsea on Monday.

He has gained many admirers along the way, including Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

But signing Doucoure to bolster their options won't come cheap. Watford are expected to be looking for more than £20 million, which would make the Frenchman a club-record sale. He was signed from Rennes in 2016 for just £8 million, but Watford have a fight on their hands to keep him at the club.