Tottenham plan fresh £4m bid for Tom Ince

Tottenham are planning to move again for Thomas Ince in January and are increasingly confident that an offer of £4million will be enough to sign him from Blackpool.

Ince, 21, is the son of Blackpool boss Paul Ince and is regarded as one of the most talented young players in the country. Spurs moved for the attacker late in the summer transfer window but at the time, the Inces decided it would be best for Tom to stay at Bloomfield Road and run down his contract.

Yet Spurs have retained their interest and plan to move again at the turn of the year for the England Under-21 international. Although Ince’s contract expires at the end of the season, his age – he turns 22 on January 30 – means Blackpool would be entitled to compensation were he to wait until the summer to move.

Tottenham are keen to work swiftly because of interest in Ince in Italy, where Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli have been monitoring the situation – and would be able to sign Ince for a reduced fee.

FIFA rules mean that Ince could sign for a foreign club in January, for a fee of just 400,000 euros (£335,000). Blackpool would clearly hope to receive far more than that for one of their prized assets but if Ince decides he would like to move to Italy – where his father played for Inter from 1995 until 1997 – there would be little the Championship club could do.

It is more likely, however, that Ince would choose to remain in England as he is keen to play in the Premier League. Everton are also thought to have shown an interest in the player, with Swansea and Newcastle also keeping an eye on the situation.