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Piotr Zielinski would be classic Pochettino signing for Tottenham, but should they go for Mertens instead?

- Poland's Piotr Zielinski and Ukraine's Taras Stepanenko in action (Reuters)
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Tottenham are keen on Piotr Zielinski.

- Poland's Piotr Zielinski and Ukraine's Taras Stepanenko in action Poland’s Piotr Zielinski

Tottenham Hotspur have made an approach for Piotr Zielinski, according to Italian newspaper Il Mattino.

The £25 million move for the Pole has reportedly been knocked back by Napoli, and Spurs should be wary of paying over the odds.

Irrespective of the fee, Zielinski would be a classic Mauricio Pochettino signing for Tottenham.

Ukraine's Olexandr Kucher and Poland's Piotr Zielinski in actionUkraine’s Olexandr Kucher and Poland’s Piotr Zielinski in action

He is a player with huge potential, making his international breakthrough as a teenager back in 2014, and is beginning to establish himself in Serie A.

This past season he scored five goals and provided seven assists, showing promise but also inconsistency, making 18 starts and 18 substitute appearances.

He is a player who Pochettino would hope his coaching could help take to a new level, in the same way he has improved the likes of Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen.

Football Soccer - AS Roma v Napoli - Italian Serie AFootball Soccer – AS Roma v Napoli – Italian Serie A

The problem is the move seems a bit too familiar to Tottenham too. Moving for a promising winger who plays in a foreign league, who is good but not great hasn’t worked out in recent seasons with moves for Clinton N’Jie and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.

A more pragmatic move for Tottenham may be a change of approach, spending that little bit more to sign Zielinkski’s far more prolific Napoli teammate Dries Mertens.

Football Soccer - Napoli v Cagliari - Italian Serie ABetter option… Dries Mertens

While the Belgian has just turned 30, he is in the form of his life.

Last season he scored a phenomenal 34 goals, 28 of which came in Serie A, and provided 11 assists.

Making a move for a proven player would mark a change of tact from Spurs, and demonstrate that they seriously mean business.

Signing Zielinski could work out, but it won’t have opposing teams changing their game plan to tackle him or see bookies slashing their odds on a Spurs title win either.