Manchester United and Tottenham open talks for Lille youngster Boubakary Soumare

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Lille are in talks with Manchester United and Tottenham over the potential January sale of midfielder Boubakary Soumare.

Boubakary Soumare

The 20-year-old made a name for himself by helping the French club to a surprise second-place finish in Ligue 1 last season.

And he is now at the centre of a transfer battle between Premier League giants United and Spurs, the Sun reports.

"It is true that there is a lot of interest from Spain, from Italy,” said Lille president Gerard Lopez.

"The interest of Jose Mourinho? I know he likes him very much, yes.

"There are five or six clubs that are interested in him so we will see."

Mourinho’s connections could give him a boost in his pursuit of Soumare, as his assistant Joao Sacramento was at Lille until joining the Portuguese’s staff in north London last month.

But the France Under-21 international won’t come cheap, as he is valued at £40-50 million and has a contract until 2022.

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Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.