Tottenham and Everton set to battle for Manchester United defender Jonny Evans

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly entered the race for Manchester United's £10m ($15.5m) rated defender Jonny Evans along with Everton.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the Northern Ireland defender will be allowed to leave the club in the summer after failing to impose himself under new manager Louis van Gaal.

Evans has had an injury plagued season, which has made sure that he was restricted to just 14 starts all season, and moreover, the spitting incident with Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse saw him miss a further six games.

The 27-year-old defender has fallen behind Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo in the pecking order, and will be allowed to leave in the summer as the manager is targeting signing defensive reinforcements, with Borussia Dortmunds Mats Hummels and Valencia's Nicolas Otamendi on the manager's radar.

The Northern Ireland international will be entering the final-year of his contract at the end of this season and has not been offered a new deal, unlike his defensive colleagues. Smalling signed a new deal recently as have youngsters Paddu McNair and Tyler Blackett, and it is believed that Phil Jones' new deal will be announced in the summer.

Roberto Martinez is desperate to strengthen his defence with current stars Sylvain Distin and Antolin Alcaraz set to depart at the end of the current season. He will need reinforcements to provide backup to Phil Jagielka and John Stones.

Tottenham, on the other hand, are also on the lookout for central defenders as Mauricio Pochettino is set to unload Vlad Chiriches and Younes Kaboul, who have failed to impress the manager and has identified Evans as the perfect candidate to challenge Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier for a starting place.

The report claims that the Nothern Irishman will prefer a move to Goodison Park over White Hart Lane, since he will not have to uproot his family, as his wife only recently gave birth to their first child.