Tottenham Hotspur target Carles Alena expected to leave Barcelona in January

Tottenham Hotspur target Carles Alena looks set to leave Barcelona in January, according to reports.

The 21-year-old progressed through the Catalan club’s famous academy and starred in the B team before being first promoted to the first-team in 2016.

Since then the midfielder has played 35 matches for the La Liga champions but just one of those has come this term.

Now Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona are willing to let the Spain Under-21 international leave on loan at the turn of the year in order to give him more experience.

It’s claimed that Spurs are keen on bringing Alena to London with boss Mauricio Pochettino a fan of the player.

Pochettino is thought to be an admirer of Alena.

The Argentine boss is thought to see the Spaniard as a potential replacement for Christian Eriksen, who is expected to depart the club when his contract expires next summer.

However, it’s also claimed that Real Betis are keeping an eye on the situation as they also weigh up a January swoop.

As well as giving up his number 21 shirt to summer signing Frenkie de Jong, the talented Dutch midfielder has also really restricted Alena’s progress at the Camp Nou.

This season he has played just 45 minutes for Ernesto Valverde’s side and that came on the opening day of the campaign against Athletic Bilbao.