Tottenham intend to rival Liverpool in the race to sign Wilfried Bony and are ready to offer £18million for the Swansea forward.

Bony’s form last season, and his subsequent strong performances for Ivory Coast in the World Cup, have attracted interested of top clubs in the Premier League but Liverpool and Spurs are the ones who have expressed a firm interest. Swansea are currently holding out for about £20m.

Standard Sport understands Bony has an open mind about which club he would like to join, although Liverpool have the advantage in that they can offer Champions League football next season, while Spurs qualified only for the Europa League.

Football's twitterati - Top 10 most followed Premier League clubs on twitter (December 2014) 10 show all Football's twitterati - Top 10 most followed Premier League clubs on twitter (December 2014) 1/10 10. Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) - 359K GETTY 2/10 9. West Ham United (@whufc_official) - 372K 3/10 8. Newcastle United (@NUFC) - 479K 4/10 7.Everton (@Everton) - 486K LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Kevin Mirallas of Everton celebrates scoring their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park on April 20, 2014 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/G 5/10 6.Tottenham (@SpursOfficial) - 980K LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 11: Emmanuel Adebayor (2nd right) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with team mates after scoring during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on May 11, 2014 in London, England. 6/10 5. Manchester City (@MCFC) - 2.18million GETTY 7/10 4. Manchester United (@manutd) - 4.03m GETTY 8/10 3. Liverpool (@LFC) - 3.64million GETTY 9/10 2.Chelsea (@chelseafc) - 4.85million Getty 10/10 1. Arsenal (@Arsenal) - 5million REUTERS 1/10 10. Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) - 359K GETTY 2/10 9. West Ham United (@whufc_official) - 372K 3/10 8. Newcastle United (@NUFC) - 479K 4/10 7.Everton (@Everton) - 486K LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - APRIL 20: Kevin Mirallas of Everton celebrates scoring their second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park on April 20, 2014 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/G 5/10 6.Tottenham (@SpursOfficial) - 980K LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 11: Emmanuel Adebayor (2nd right) of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with team mates after scoring during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa at White Hart Lane on May 11, 2014 in London, England. 6/10 5. Manchester City (@MCFC) - 2.18million GETTY 7/10 4. Manchester United (@manutd) - 4.03m GETTY 8/10 3. Liverpool (@LFC) - 3.64million GETTY 9/10 2.Chelsea (@chelseafc) - 4.85million Getty 10/10 1. Arsenal (@Arsenal) - 5million REUTERS

Mauricio Pochettino’s preference to play a sole forward would leave Bony in competition with Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado. Adebayor is believed to have the backing of Pochettino but it is not guaranteed that Soldado will remain.

Meanwhile, Spurs have insisted defender Jan Vertonghen will not be sold this summer, even though his representatives are believed to have been sounding out clubs abroad.