Tottenham Hotspur retain an interest in Marc Guehi, although it is not certain the club will make another bid for the Crystal Palace defender.
And Telegraph Sport can also reveal the details of the ‘key player clause’ in Tottenham’s summer trip to South Korea that has contributed to the uncertainty around the future of Son Heung-min.
Guehi was the subject of a late bid from Tottenham near the end of the winter transfer window, which was rejected by Palace.
Liverpool have since registered an interest in Guehi and remain the favourites to sign the England international if he leaves Palace this summer.
But Spurs have retained an interest in Guehi, who is in the final year of his Palace contract, and have not yet ruled out making another offer of their own.
The centre of defence is a position the club are looking at and Spurs have also made checks on Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi, although Paris St-Germain are at the front of the queue for the Ukraine international.
Given Tottenham already have four senior central defenders – Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin, plus Ben Davies and Archie Gray who can fill in in an emergency – the club’s interest in possibly strengthening the position raises questions.
The main one is whether or not Spurs are making contingency plans in case Romero leaves or whether they are future-proofing themselves with the Argentine entering the final two years of his contract.
It is not clear whether interest in Guehi and Zabarnyi relates to Romero, who has been pursued in public by Atlético Madrid and has previously suggested he would like to play in Spain one day.
Head coach Thomas Frank last week offered no guarantees over the long-term futures of Romero or Son, who is crucial to Tottenham’s trip to South Korea.
Spurs head to Asia on Sunday, where they play Arsenal in Hong Kong on July 31 and Newcastle United in Seoul on Aug 3 before returning to the UK the following day.
Son’s presence and participation in the Newcastle game in Seoul is particularly important to Spurs and the ‘key player clause’ that is common in the contracts of touring Premier League clubs.
Telegraph Sport understands that Tottenham would miss out on as much as 75 per cent of their fee for playing in Seoul if Son is not part of the touring squad. It is believed the fee would be halved were he to travel but not play in the game.
Barring a last-minute injury, it is understood that Son will travel to Asia with Tottenham and play in Seoul so that the club do not let down tens of thousands of supporters and miss out on a huge portion of their fee.
Sources believe the ‘key player clause’ meant that it was virtually impossible for Tottenham to even consider selling Son before the tour to Asia and the game in South Korea.
And it is why there remains some doubt over Son’s long-term future once Spurs return to the UK just over 10 days before their first Premier League game of the season against Burnley.
Frank has been guarded over Son’s long-term future, but did suggest he would not want to lose him on the eve of the new season. Asked if he would prefer to avoid a scenario similar to that of Harry Kane, who left the day before the first game of the 2023-24 campaign, Frank said: “Yeah. First and foremost, here’s here now. I’m not worried too much about it. Let’s take that five or six weeks down the line.”
Son left team-mates and staff under the impression he was ready to leave Tottenham at the end of last season after winning the Europa League with the club.
There has been interest from Saudi Arabia and the United States, although there have since been suggestions he is happy to stay at Tottenham – at least until January.
Asked about the future of Son last week, Frank said: “Right now I have a player [Son] that is fully committed and training well. If a player has been at a club a long time, then there will always be a decision for the club to take, of course. And, of course, the head coach and the guys who are in charge and this case will be with Daniel [Levy] and Johan [Lange]. If someone wants to leave at a certain stage, then there can be something there. But the club will always decide in the end.”