Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Barcelona wonderkid Ilaix Moriba, as rival interest from RB Leipzig has emerged this weekend [Sunday Express].

The Lowdown: Moriba at the centre of a contract wrangle at the Camp Nou

No stranger to the limelight, Moriba has become something of a thorn in the side of the Barcelona hierarchy after failing to sign a new contract at the Catalan giants this summer [GOAL].

He has allegedly asked for around £100k-p/w to renew terms, angering Camp Nou chiefs and eventually being frozen out of their squad [Sport Bible].

The youngster is regarded as one of the most prodigious talents to come through the famed La Masia academy in a long time, once even labelled 'the future of the club’ by Ronald Koeman [GOAL].

However, that future may lay elsewhere.

The Latest: Future set to be decided in the next 24 hours

Tottenham are set to find out the trajectory of the 6 foot 1 ace’s next move in the next 24 hours, with his current employers open to cashing in on his services due to their financial difficulties [Sunday Express].

RB Leipzig are also hot on his tail, potentially creating a problem for the Lilywhites due to the German outfit's reputation of offering regular first-team football to young stars.

Though they are reportedly £5 million short of matching the valuation set by Barca, the Bundesliga side are said to have offered tempting personal terms which Spurs would be unable to match.

The Verdict: Tottenham should prioritise Moriba

Likely to cost a pretty penny in terms of wage expenditure, any advancement in Tottenham’s willingness to lure the 18-year-old to N17 should be on the premise that he features regularly in a senior environment.

Bringing a bustling presence in the midfield, the Guinean-born anchor man showcased his capabilities effortlessly last term, registering four goal contributions from 18 appearances from deep; one goal and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Backing up plaudits, his successful pass accuracy rate of 91.6% across the campaign would help to bring some control to the Spurs midfield, potentially being a vital asset in high-profile encounters [WhoScored].

He was once dubbed as 'incredible' by ex Barca B coach Garcia Pimenta, and surely improve further with more first XI exposure [SB Nation].

Should they be able to offer Moriba the guarantees of being an imminently important figure in their starting line-up, there is no reason why Tottenham should not look to close the deal and add another future midfield star to the signing of Pape Matar Sarr.

In other news, a Tottenham legend has dropped their verdict on a Lilywhites defender. Find out more here.