Tottenham pursuit of Kyle Walker replacement in jeopardy with Juventus interested in Ricardo Pereira

Tottenham Hotspur face competition from Juventus in their attempts to lure FC Porto defender Ricardo Pereira to north London. Mauricio Pochettino is desperate to improve his options at right-back having allow Kyle Walker to join Manchester City, and though he has Kieran Trippier in reserve wants to add depth to the position.

Following a recommendation from head scout Steve Hitchen, last season's Premier League runners-up were thought to be leading the race to sign the 23-year-old who is valued at £22m. The Portugal international has spent the last two seasons on loan at Nice in France, an area of Europe where Hitchen is considered to be an expert on.

But The Evening Standard understand that Champions League runners-up Juve are now contenders to sign Pereira, jeopardising Tottenham's hopes of luring the defender to Europe. Max Allegri's side have been urged to confirm the nature of their interest by the player's agent.

Juventus' need to sign a full-back has swelled this week after Dani Alves departed the club for Paris Saint-Germain - snubbing an offer from City in the process. The Brazil international played a key role in the club winning the Italian league and cup double and reaching the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid.

Given the regular stream of silverware coming into Juventus and their competitiveness in Europe the Serie A champions must be considered favourites ahead of Tottenham to sign Pereira if their interest is genuine. The need to strengthen their defence has been accentuated by the sale of Leonardo Bonucci to rivals AC Milan, though Pereira would not be considered a direct replacement for the Italy international.

Should Juventus indeed hurdle Tottenham in pursuit of the full-back then it would be the latest setback in a summer of frustration for Pochettino, who has failed to land a single signing in the transfer window. The attention has instead been on trying to prevent players leaving the club, though after Walker moved to the Etihad Stadium there are fears Eric Dier could follow amid interest from Manchester United.