As per French football expert Julien Laurens, Tottenham have joined the race to sign Houssem Aouar from Lyon this summer.

The Lowdown: Spurs lagging behind

Spurs finally confirmed their new manager with Nuno Espirito Santo taking the hot-seat, but that does not mean their transfer business has accelerated.

So far, the Lilywhites are yet to make a single signing as the season fast approaches, and Nuno may soon be running out of time to shape the squad in his image.

That could change now though, with ESPN's Laurens dropping an update on Thursday evening.

The Latest: Spurs enter Aouar race

It is being reported that Spurs are interested in capturing Aouar from Lyon. Arsenal were also mentioned by Laurens, and they are now set to go head-to-head with Tottenham for the 23-year-old.

"Being told that Tottenham have now also entered the race for Houssem Aouar," the journalist said on Twitter.

"Arsenal are still keen on the Lyon playmaker but Spurs are in the conversation too now."

The Verdict: Statement

Signing Aouar would be a huge statement of intent from Daniel Levy. Valued at £37.8m (Transfermarkt), the midfielder already has 170 appearances for Lyon to his name, scoring 32 goals and providing 31 assists, and he has even been compared to Zinedine Zidane (The Sun).

Not only that, he has received high praise from both Kevin de Bruyne and Lionel Messi (football.london) - he is clearly a player with immense potential.

Of course, there is likely to be plenty of competition for his signature - he is a young player whose transfer value could rise drastically, after all, and plenty of clubs across Europe will be eager to add him to their ranks.

If Levy can beat the competition, it would show he and the club mean business.

In other news, Tottenham want to sign this Euro 2020 star.