Tottenham are looking to add another attacker to the squad for Thomas Frank.
Spurs have already signed Mathys Tel in a £30m move from Bayern Munich, after the France U21 international did enough to impress during his loan spell in the second half of last season.
However, Tottenham are still looking to bolster the attacking department further for Thomas Frank after the Dane replaced Ange Postecoglou, and talks are now set to commence with Rennes over the signing of Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Tottenham Hotspur to open Arnaud Kalimuendo talks after Newcastle held discussions
L’Equipe now claim that Tottenham are ready to start speaking to Rennes about a deal for the France U23 international.
The French news outlet state that Newcastle have already held talks with the Ligue 1 outfit over a deal for Kalimuendo – who Leeds also want to sign – and Bayer Leverkusen have been in negotiations too.
However, Tottenham have now decided to ‘accelerate’ their pursuit of the 23-year-old in the last few hours, and are set to get in touch with Rennes to discuss how much it would take to sign the striker.
Kalimuendo scored 18 goals in 34 appearances across all competitions last season – also providing four assists – as Rennes finished 12th in Ligue 1.
Arnaud Kalimuendo might be the Yoane Wissa alternative for Thomas Frank
Tottenham want to sign Bryan Mbeumo to bolster the wide attacking areas, but Frank is also keen on bringing Yoane Wissa to Spurs with him from Brentford as well.
It will surely be difficult to sign one of Wissa or Mbeumo – who scored 19 and 20 Premier League goals respectively last season – let alone both, although the data suggests Kalimuendo could be an alternative to Wissa, at least.
Statistics site FBREF show that the DR Congo international is a similar player to the Rennes No.9 in terms of data, with both thriving when it comes to non-penalty goals, progressive carries up the pitch and take ons.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that Spurs have received a negative response from Brentford regarding Wissa, and have consequently decided to step up interest in Kalimuendo.