If Mauricio Pochettino could not afford for one player to get injured against Juventus, it was Kieran Trippier.
The England international hobbled off midway through Spurs’ final pre-season friendly at Wembley, leaving Kyle Walker-Peters as their only available senior right-back.
The decision to sell Kyle Walker to Manchester City has at least left the club with £50million to reinvest.
According to the Daily Mail, Spurs have now joined the race for £25m-rated Joao Cancelo, who is already being targeted by Juventus.
Having impressed at the summer’s under-21 European Championships, the Valencia full-back is seen by Juve as a potential replacement for Dani Alves, who cut short his contract early to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Spurs’ need is even greater, as Pochettino told the assembled media after his side’s 2-0 win on Saturday that he doesn’t think Walker-Peters, 20, is ready to make his debut at Newcastle next week.
“He is still so young and I think it’s too much for him,” he said.
“He’s a player who needs to work with us and maybe play in different games.
“But we cannot think of only him if Kieran is weeks away from the team. We’re working to find a solution.”
With less than a week to go until the new Premier League season begins, time is running out. If Trippier isn’t able to prove his fitness, Moussa Sissoko may be forced to operate as a right wing-back, a position he attempted in last season’s win over Leicester.
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