Tottenham are facing a battle to convince Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele to join them this summer.

Spurs have opened talks with the Ligue 1 club over the coveted France international and they are confident of reaching an agreement.

However, Ndombele is thought to favour a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona, or Premier League champions Manchester City, and is in no rush to make a decision on his future, having begun his summer break this week following France's Euro 2020 qualifiers.

Lyon's asking price is also likely to prove problematic for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, with the Ligue 1 club's president Jean-Michel Aulas, who is every bit as tough a negotiator, starting talks at €80million (£71m).

That fee would smash Spurs' transfer record – the £40m they paid for Davinson Sanchez in summer 2017 – but they remain hopeful of knocking down Lyon's asking price and convincing the player that he should move to north London and work under Mauricio Pochettino.

In Pictures: Premier League 2019-20 fixtures in full 21 show all In Pictures: Premier League 2019-20 fixtures in full 1/21 The fixtures for the 2019-20 Premier League season have been released. Here they are, in full, club by club. Getty Images 2/21 Arsenal 3/21 Aston Villa 4/21 Brighton 5/21 Bournemouth 6/21 Burnley 7/21 Chelsea 8/21 Crystal Palace 9/21 Everton 10/21 Leicester City 11/21 Liverpool 12/21 Manchester City 13/21 Manchester United 14/21 Newcastle United 15/21 Norwich City 16/21 Sheffield United 17/21 Southampton 18/21 Tottenham 19/21 Watford 20/21 Wolves 21/21 West Ham 1/21 The fixtures for the 2019-20 Premier League season have been released. Here they are, in full, club by club. Getty Images 2/21 Arsenal 3/21 Aston Villa 4/21 Brighton 5/21 Bournemouth 6/21 Burnley 7/21 Chelsea 8/21 Crystal Palace 9/21 Everton 10/21 Leicester City 11/21 Liverpool 12/21 Manchester City 13/21 Manchester United 14/21 Newcastle United 15/21 Norwich City 16/21 Sheffield United 17/21 Southampton 18/21 Tottenham 19/21 Watford 20/21 Wolves 21/21 West Ham

Ndombele particularly impressed in the Champions League last season, helping Lyon to take four points off Man City in the group stage and hold Barcelona to a draw in the last-16 first leg.

Pochettino, the Spurs manager, has made strengthening his central midfield the top priority this summer, not least because Christian Eriksen would push for a transfer if Real Madrid firm-up long-standing interest in the Denmark international.

Spurs did not replace Mousa Dembele, who moved to China in January, while Eric Dier, Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama all suffered injury problems last summer, leaving Pochettino reliant on Ndombele's international team-mate Moussa Sissoko.

Wanyama is one of several players available to leave Spurs in the summer.

Tottenham are also interested in Real Betis playmaker Giovani Lo Celso and Ajax's Donny van de Beek, who scored against them in the Champions League semi-final first leg.

Both players would fill the void left by the departure of Eriksen, who has one year remaining on his contract but has not ruled out signing a new one.

The Champions League runners-up remain in talks with Fulham over Ryan Sessegnon, who has made clear his desire to move to Spurs, but the London rivals are still someway apart on asking price.