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Tottenham will offer Andros Townsend to Southampton in a bid to hijack Adam Lallana's move to Liverpool.

New Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has an excellent relationship with England forward Lallana and the White Hart Lane club believe they have a chance of capturing the player.

Townsend, missing the World Cup because of an ankle injury, is surplus to requirements at Spurs and will be offered as bait to persuade Southampton to do business with them.

Pochettino has been charged with reviving the fortunes of his fellow Argentinian Erik Lamela, who, like Townsend is a left-footed player who prefers to play on the right wing.

So Townsend, 22, is now up for grabs, with QPR and Newcastle also showing interest in the player.

Liverpool had a £20million bid rejected for the 26-year-old Lallana but are willing to raise their offer to £25m, with the player keen on the move to Anfield.

Kop boss Brendan Rodgers has completed the signing of Southampton striker Rickie Lambert and is desperate to add a second Saints star in Lallana.

(Image: Shaun Botterill)

The fact that Bournemouth are entitled to 25 per cent of any sell-on fee for Lallana, after Saints took him off the books of their south coast neighbours as a schoolboy, means that the St Mary's club are demanding top dollar.

Pochettino played a key role in Lallana's emergence as an England player and the pair enjoy a close bond of trust.

And Townsend, who played a key role in England's World Cup qualification, would be an attractive option for Saints in a proposed player-plus-cash deal.

Spurs are also ready to off-load Nacer Chadli, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Lewis Holtby and Michael Dawson this summer.

Hugo Lloris and Roberto Soldado both likely to go for major transfer fees, while the futures of Jan Vertonghen, Etiene Capoue and Paulinho are all up in the air.

So Pochettino will have cash to spend and is keen on Lallana as well as Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren.