• Lyon want €75m for midfielder but Spurs value him at €50m • Manchester City, Juventus and Real Madrid also interested

Tottenham’s pursuit of the Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombélé is being complicated by his €75m (£66.6m) price tag. Mauricio Pochettino, the Spurs manager, has told Daniel Levy, his chairman, that Ndombélé is precisely the type of player he wants to sign this summer, as he looks to refresh his project at the club.

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Ndombélé, who has six France caps, is only 22 but already has won rave reviews for his rare blend of skill and power. He is blessed with excellent dribbling and passing ability, not to mention pace.

Spurs have opened talks over Ndombélé, although they have yet to make an official offer, and they value him at around €50m. The problem for them will be negotiating with the Lyon chairman, Jean-Michel Aulas, who is as notorious as Levy for driving hard bargains. Aulas knows that there is interest in Ndombélé from many leading clubs including Manchester City, Juventus and Real Madrid.

“I am negotiating with the biggest European clubs for Ndombélé,” Aulas has said.

Pochettino is keen to strengthen in midfield, having sold Mousa Dembélé to China last January, and he would like to add more than one player in the area. Spurs have held talks with the representatives of Ajax’s Donny van de Beek and Roma’s Nicolò Zaniolo – both of whom also fit the profile of being young and gifted, with the potential to grow on the field and increase in value. Pochettino wants the 19-year-old Fulham winger Ryan Sessesgnon as well.