Tottenham Hotspurs are leading the race for West Brom’s 19-year-old full-back, Nathan Ferguson, according to reports.
The youngster has starred for Slaven Bilic’s promotion chasing men this season but with his contract up in the summer, the Baggies could be forced to cash in this month.
Bilic’s old club West Ham are also said to be interested in a full-back with ageing Pablo Zabaleta the only cover available at right-back for Ryan Fredericks.
And on the other of side of their defence, questions are regularly asked about the quality of Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku and Bilic’s links with the East Londoners have led to suggestions a London Stadium move could be on the cards for Ferguson.
But Tottenham remain in pole position in the race for his signature, according to the Mirror.
Ferguson’s hesitance to sign the new five-year deal he has been offered at the Hawthorns means he can sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club now and could leave for nothing to a Premier League team in the summer.
As a result, Spurs have been keeping tabs on Ferguson throughout the season and are in the market for a full-back given doubts surrounding Serge Aurier’s ability.
The 19-year-old can play on either side of the defence which is also a plus for the North Londoners given their first-choice left-back Ben Davies’ proneness to injury.
Even if West Brom are forced to sell Ferguson in order to secure some cash, sporting director Luke Dowling admitted at the weekend they want to know one way or the other.
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He said: “We will be looking for clarity from Nathan Ferguson and his advisor about whether or not he wants to stay with us.
“All I can say at this stage is that I am confident we can find the terms that would make sense to Nathan at his stage of his career – and that we all believe that his pathway at Albion remains the most advantageous to him.”