Tottenham ‘intensify chase’ for Brazilian star after ‘scouts go on four separate visits…’

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly stepping up their hunt for Benfica defender Morato ahead of the January transfer window.

Lilywhites coach Ange Postecoglou is looking to strengthen his defensive ranks this winter after running out of options. Tottenham signed Micky van de Ven in a £43 million deal this summer and he has made a sensational start in north London. However, the 22-year-old Dutchman suffered a hamstring problem during the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea in November, which is expected to rule him out until mid-February.In recent weeks he has forced Postecoglou to field full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies, and Eric Dier – on the wing in the summer – as central defenders. However, Spurs have reportedly chosen Morato as their central target for the new year after widely scouting the Benfica star. According to The Sun, Tottenham sent scouts to watch Morato in action four times in November to cement their interest.And Portuguese outlet O Jogo claims the Lilywhites have since stepped up their hunt and named him as a priority target next month. Morato has already attracted interest from Fulham and Nottingham Forest. However, the former saw a bid of £21.4 million rejected and the latter saw a bid of £25.8 million unsuccessful. The Brazil U23 international graduated from Sao Paulo’s academy before joining Benfica’s youth academy in September 2019 in a £6.5m deal. He was promoted to the first team two years later and has since become an important player for Roger Schmidt.Morato has made 15 appearances in all competitions this season at centre-back and left-back, and has made five appearances in the Champions League.Postecoglou has already confirmed that the signing of a central defender is at the top of his wish list for the January transfer window. “If you think about it, we let Davinson Sánchez go after closing the window. “We kind of knew we were taking risks,” Postecoglou said this week.”We couldn’t get the extra central defender we wanted and at the start of the year that was good. But we lost Micky [van de Ven] once and Eric Dier had some problems: ‘Eh well, we don’t have another central defender.“Youngster Ash Phillips had only just joined the club so it’s fair to say we can’t risk something like this happening again. This is of course a priority for us in January.“But here too we need to find the right person. It’s not just about bringing in another body; It’s about getting the right ones in, and hopefully that happens.”