Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Alexis Mac Allister after Brighton & Hove Albion CEO Paul Barber revealed they don’t want to sell in January.

The Lowdown: Mac Allister interest

Interest has spiked in Brighton’s Mac Allister following an exceptional World Cup campaign, which saw him return to the Premier League side as a world champion.

Mac Allister has become a vital player under both Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi with his place in the side this season indomitable.

His performances have led to interest from Spurs with Calciomercatoweb reporting last month that Antonio Conte is very interested in the 24-year-old.

The Latest: Barber’s comments

However, it now seems that any plans to lure the Argentinian to north London have been scuppered until at least the summer, with Albion CEO Barber revealing on House of Champions that they aren’t looking to sell any prized assets.

He said: “We always try and avoid doing business of any kind - outgoing or incoming - in January. I think there’s a couple of reasons for that.

“First of all, it tends to be more of a seller's market, although, of course, the problem with that is if you sell and you need to replace, you then go into the buyer's market, which is a more difficult place to be.

“So from our point of view, we would rather do our business in the summer; we would rather keep our squad stable during the winter window.

“If we can retain all of our key players during January, then that would certainly be our aim.”

The Verdict: Would be a great signing

Mac Allister, who it was reported Conte intends to sign for Tottenham, has been one of the stars of the season, with his performances on the south coast going up a level this campaign.

He started all 14 league games before the World Cup break and only failed to complete 90 minutes on one occasion. He’s scored four times predominately from a deeper midfield position, with his glorious free-kick against Leicester City dubbed “magic” by Jack Collins.

Spurs could be on the lookout for a box-to-box midfielder with a creative nous to halve the burden on Rodrigo Bentancur, and Mac Allister is potentially capable of being that player, with him in the top 6% amongst midfielders for shots and top 14% for tackles (via FBref), highlighting his all-round ability in the middle of the park.