Tottenham will battle it out with Liverpool to sign Chelsea left-back Ryan Bertrand.

The Blues need to raise transfer funds and are prepared to sell the 24-year-old, who spent the second half of this season on loan at Aston Villa.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, who moved to White Hart Lane last week from Southampton, was interested in the England international as a replacement for Manchester United-bound Saints defender Luke Shaw.

However, it is a position he wants to strengthen at White Hart Lane, too.

Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen shared the role this term, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto is returning from a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers in the hope of getting his first-team place back.

The obstacles facing Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham 7 show all The obstacles facing Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham 1/7 On the field problems It did not matter who was in charge last season — Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood or even Pep Guardiola — the team simply were not good enough. Unlike AVB last summer, Pochettino will not have the proceeds from the sale of Gareth Bale to spend but funds can be raised by selling some misfits. Persuading goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and defender Jan Vertonghen to stay is a must if Spurs want to show they mean business. Another priority for the new man is assessing the club’s abundance of central-midfield talent — Sandro, Etienne Capoue, Mousa Dembele and Paulinho — and deciding who is expendable. Adding a creative spark to lighten the burden on Christian Eriksen is a necessity while Pochettino will also want to add some much-needed steel and strength in depth to the back four. Getting the best out of club record £30million signing Erik Lamela, who barely featured this season due to a back injury, will earn favour both in the boardroom and the stands, while promoting youth talent would ease the strain on the chequebook. 2/7 Striking concerns The striking position is also a concern. Roberto Soldado could be sold back to Spain and Harry Kane is still raw. There are no guarantees the enigmatic Emmanuel Adebayor can be relied upon to repeat the form he showed under Sherwood, so two front men may need to be found. An offer for Queens Park Rangers’ pacy forward Loic Remy is already in place and Pochettino is eyeing up a raid on former club Southampton for Jay Rodriguez (pictured), who is recovering from knee surgery. 3/7 Problems off the field The nature of Tottenham’s boardroom set-up should hold no fears for Pochettino given his experience of similar conditions at Southampton. Still, it is imperative he maintains a close bond with both Levy and technical director Franco Baldini (pictured), who is under strain after the majority of his signings last summer struggled to make a significant impact. With transfer funds at a premium, Pochettino and Baldini must establish a good understanding quickly to find some talented bargains. But it is Levy that Pochettino has to impress most. The chairman’s reign has been littered with rumours of coaches falling out with him over his methods, particularly during the transfer window. 4/7 Handling egos The ability to man-manage a dressing room is one of the most important skills any coach must have and it is vital the 42-year-old gets his new players onside quickly. At Southampton, Pochettino made his squad undergo double training sessions every day. Such a workload was easier to introduce to a group of younger, more impressionable men, whereas the Spurs squad is full of experienced internationals. Notably, he failed to get the best out of Southampton’s record signing Dani Osvaldo and will be put to the test again by another temperamental character in Adebayor (above). GETTY 5/7 Managing expectations Even the most realistic of Spurs fans can be hard to please at times and Pochettino will not have the same room for error as he enjoyed at St Mary’s, where the odd bad run of results barely caused a stir. With Manchester United bound to enjoy a resurgence under new manager Louis van Gaal, the quest for the top four in his first season looks even more unlikely with Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton already in the mix. However, given that most of his recent predecessors Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp, AVB and Sherwood were all fired after securing a top-six finish, Pochettino can ill afford to come any lower. 6/7 Taking on the big boys Pochettino will be crossing off the days until the fixtures are published on June 18 and paramount in his thoughts must be finding a way past the quality teams in the top flight. Heavy defeats by Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea last term dented morale. They also lost to Arsenal home and away in the League and were knocked out of the FA Cup by their fierce rivals. 7/7 Habla Inglés, Mauricio A refusal to conduct press conferences in English was tolerated on the south coast but won’t be treated with the same sympathy in north London. A healthy relationship with the Press is vital to get his message across so it is time to dispense with the interpreter and put his language skills, which are believed to be more than adequate, to the test. GETTY 1/7 On the field problems It did not matter who was in charge last season — Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood or even Pep Guardiola — the team simply were not good enough. Unlike AVB last summer, Pochettino will not have the proceeds from the sale of Gareth Bale to spend but funds can be raised by selling some misfits. Persuading goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and defender Jan Vertonghen to stay is a must if Spurs want to show they mean business. Another priority for the new man is assessing the club’s abundance of central-midfield talent — Sandro, Etienne Capoue, Mousa Dembele and Paulinho — and deciding who is expendable. Adding a creative spark to lighten the burden on Christian Eriksen is a necessity while Pochettino will also want to add some much-needed steel and strength in depth to the back four. Getting the best out of club record £30million signing Erik Lamela, who barely featured this season due to a back injury, will earn favour both in the boardroom and the stands, while promoting youth talent would ease the strain on the chequebook. 2/7 Striking concerns The striking position is also a concern. Roberto Soldado could be sold back to Spain and Harry Kane is still raw. There are no guarantees the enigmatic Emmanuel Adebayor can be relied upon to repeat the form he showed under Sherwood, so two front men may need to be found. An offer for Queens Park Rangers’ pacy forward Loic Remy is already in place and Pochettino is eyeing up a raid on former club Southampton for Jay Rodriguez (pictured), who is recovering from knee surgery. 3/7 Problems off the field The nature of Tottenham’s boardroom set-up should hold no fears for Pochettino given his experience of similar conditions at Southampton. Still, it is imperative he maintains a close bond with both Levy and technical director Franco Baldini (pictured), who is under strain after the majority of his signings last summer struggled to make a significant impact. With transfer funds at a premium, Pochettino and Baldini must establish a good understanding quickly to find some talented bargains. But it is Levy that Pochettino has to impress most. The chairman’s reign has been littered with rumours of coaches falling out with him over his methods, particularly during the transfer window. 4/7 Handling egos The ability to man-manage a dressing room is one of the most important skills any coach must have and it is vital the 42-year-old gets his new players onside quickly. At Southampton, Pochettino made his squad undergo double training sessions every day. Such a workload was easier to introduce to a group of younger, more impressionable men, whereas the Spurs squad is full of experienced internationals. Notably, he failed to get the best out of Southampton’s record signing Dani Osvaldo and will be put to the test again by another temperamental character in Adebayor (above). GETTY 5/7 Managing expectations Even the most realistic of Spurs fans can be hard to please at times and Pochettino will not have the same room for error as he enjoyed at St Mary’s, where the odd bad run of results barely caused a stir. With Manchester United bound to enjoy a resurgence under new manager Louis van Gaal, the quest for the top four in his first season looks even more unlikely with Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton already in the mix. However, given that most of his recent predecessors Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp, AVB and Sherwood were all fired after securing a top-six finish, Pochettino can ill afford to come any lower. 6/7 Taking on the big boys Pochettino will be crossing off the days until the fixtures are published on June 18 and paramount in his thoughts must be finding a way past the quality teams in the top flight. Heavy defeats by Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea last term dented morale. They also lost to Arsenal home and away in the League and were knocked out of the FA Cup by their fierce rivals. 7/7 Habla Inglés, Mauricio A refusal to conduct press conferences in English was tolerated on the south coast but won’t be treated with the same sympathy in north London. A healthy relationship with the Press is vital to get his message across so it is time to dispense with the interpreter and put his language skills, which are believed to be more than adequate, to the test. GETTY

Pochettino is a big admirer of Bertrand, who won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012 and is valued at around £6million.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers knows Bertrand well having worked with him at youth level while at Chelsea and the Anfield club are thought to have first registered their interest in January.