Spurs open file on Benfica's Eduardo Salvio

What with the return of the Champions League and all the FA Cup action, the transfer rumour mill has slowed down to a pace more normally associated with Per Mertesacker. But there are still one or two stories doing the rounds including a Transfer Talk regular, Paul Pogba.

• Tottenham are said to be tracking Benfica winger Eduardo Salvio after watching him in action last weekend. The Evening Standard reports that Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino has dispatched scouts to Portugal to compile a dossier on the 24-year-old after the Argentine put in a series of eye-catching performances. The Standard says that Benfica "would not be interested in selling for anything less than ￡25 million" but Pochettino remains cautiously optimistic that he'll be able to convince his compatriot to make the move in the summer.

• Still in London and Brazilian winger Nene is expected to be confirmed as West Ham's latest acquisition on a short-term deal until the end of the season. Talksport says that Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has been forced to look for another striker after Andy Carroll was sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Nene arrived in England at the start of the week for talks and the former PSG winger, who cancelled his contract with Qatar club Al-Gharafa at the end of January, will spend the next four months at Upton Park.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

• The future of France international midfielder Paul Pogba has been exciting much speculation of late with the 21-year-old linked with a summer move from Juventus, and now goal.com reports that Nicolas Anelka has advised his fellow Frenchmen that he should move to either England or Spain as soon as possible to complete his football education. In conversation with France Football magazine, Anelka explained: "My preference is Chelsea, who have really big players and [owner Roman] Abramovich's financial power, or Real Madrid, who are one of the biggest clubs in the world - if not the biggest." As for a fee if Pogba did leave Turin in June, goal.com says Juventus could expect to earn around ￡85m from any transfer.

• And in Arsenal transfer news, Marco Verratti seems to have scotched rumours that he might be moving to north London.