Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has made it clear he wants a new centre-back in January to bolster his defensive ranks.
Micky van de Ven, signed in the summer, impressed in the early part of the season before suffering a hamstring injury at the start of November, while Cristian Romero has already served a ban for his red card against Chelsea.
Their absences have meant full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies deputising in the middle of the Spurs defence in recent games.
"I wrote my letter to Santa," Postecoglou joked. "Like my kids, now I've just got to see whether I've been naughty or nice and see what I get.