Spurs target £18m deal for Monaco's Anthony Martial

Tottenham are keen to upgrade their squad and Pochettino is hoping to bring in new, young players to supplement the youngsters he brought through last season

Monaco forward Anthony Martial is apparently close to an £18m transfer to Tottenham (Getty)

Tottenham Hotspur have made Monaco forward Anthony Martial their first major transfer target of the summer.

Having signed 22-year-old Austrian defender Kevin Wimmer from FC Koln for £4.3m, manager Mauricio Pochettino has identified 19-year-old Martial as the man to improve Spurs’ attacking options next season. There was a report in France yesterday Monaco and Tottenham were close to agreeing an £18m fee, but Spurs played down that suggestion, insisting there was no agreement or formal offer, but the interest is genuine.

Martial has been one of the young stars of a Monaco side which finished third in Ligue 1 this season. He arrived from Olympique Lyonnais in 2013 and has impressed under Leonardo Jardim as a wide forward. Monaco’s vice-president, Vadim Vasilyev, has described Martial as “untransferable” in recent interviews. “It is too early for him to leave,” he said.

Tottenham are keen to upgrade their squad and Pochettino is hoping to bring in new, young players to supplement the youngsters he brought through last season, such as Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb.

Spurs will also be hoping to keep hold of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris should Manchester United try to sign him if they lose David De Gea to Real Madrid. “For the moment there is a goalkeeper at United and we are watchful of his situation,” Lloris said. “If things should happen then they’ll happen naturally.”