Barcelona eye signing Tottenham star Dele Alli to replace Neymar

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli has emerged as a target for Barcelona in their attempts to replace Neymar following his world record move to Paris Saint Germain. The Catalans are eager to cover for the loss of the Brazil international, leading to links with a host of players across Europe.

Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, Borussia Dortmund forward Ousmane Dembele and Monaco teenager Kylian Mbappe have all be linked with moved to the Nou Camp in recent days following Neymar's £198m move to the French capital which has rocked world football.

Ernesto Valverde's desperation to fill the void left by Neymar had now led to him targeting a move for Alli, according to The Express, who scored 22 goals in all competitions for Tottenham last season - just his second full campaign with the north Londoners. Alli has regularly stated his career could take him away from Spurs but with less than four weeks to go in the transfer window a deal seems unlikely.

Key to a possible move is Tottenham's limited financial resources which sees them forced to operate under a strict wage cap, reportedly standing at £100,000-a-week. It prohibits them from offering bumper new deals to their current players and acquiring some of the most sought-after stars in world football though it could yet lead to the departure in the future of Alli and last season's top scorer Harry Kane. Having recouped a world-record fee for Neymar this week, Barcelona will naturally be able to offer Alli a significant financial package to move to La Liga.

Mauricio Pochettino will be keen to retain Alli, particularly as he is yet to improve his squad from last season. Tottenham are the only club inside England's top four divisions not to have made a signing this summer, with Pochettino concerned the lack of new additions means the likes of Kane and Alli will not be sufficiently pushed to build on their performances from last term.

Alli's status as one of the leading young players in the world was underlined last month when he was named the most valuable Under-21 player in Europe by Soccerex. The 20-man list, compiled based on factors including a player's contract length, international experience, goals and technical quality, saw Alli valued at €86.6m [£73m].

The ex-Milton Keynes Dons youngster and the PFA Young Player of the Year from the last two seasons was ranked ahead of Barcelona targets Mbappe and Dembele, and fellow stars from the Premier League including Manchester City's Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus, Marcus Rashford of Manchester United and Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen.

In perhaps a sign of their failure to bring players through their La Masia academy in recent years, Barcelona do not have a single player on the list though among Valverde's tasks during his maiden campaign is to promote more players into the first team.