Tottenham Hotspur are ready to open talks with South American giants River Plate over the signing of young forward Sebastián Driussi, hoping they can convince the 36-time Argentine champions to sell. The 20-year-old striker finished as top scorer in the first half of the Argentinean league season, scoring 10 goals in 14 league games before clubs went on their summer break.

Driussi, a youth international, is considered one of the continent's most talented young footballers and has attracted strong interest from Juventus in the past.  Despite Tottenham's interest, River head coach Marcelo Gallardo has asked the club's directors to extend Driussi's contract after his exceptional early-season form and is reluctant to sanction any sale. But club president Rodolfo D'Onofrio and technical director Enzo Francescoli are more open to letting Driussi go, yet only if they can secure a big-money deal, north of £10million, that would both allow the starlet to remain on loan with his boyhood club and include a sell-on clause.

Mauricio Pochettino is keen to use contacts in his homeland to secure top young talent, with many of Argentina's clubs financially stretched due to financial mismanagement and an ongoing dispute with the league and national football association. Spurs also retain an interest in another River centre-forward, Lucas Alario, but sources at the Buenos Aires club believe it unlikely that the 24-year-old will ever be sold to an English club owing to his complicated third-party ownership status. Liverpool have previously attempted to sign Alario.