French pair Benjamin Stambouli and Etienne Capoue could be on their way out of Tottenham Hotspur in the near future, with Watford thought to be lining up a £10million double bid.
Capoue, 26, joined from Toulouse two years ago while 24-year-old Stambouli made the switch from fellow Ligue Un side Montpellier last summer, but neither has managed to settle at White Hart Lane.
Both players have had startlingly similar Spurs careers
Signed for a fee of around £9.3million in the summer of 2013, Capoue managed just 12 Premier League appearances in each of his two seasons at the club, though he featured more regularly in Spurs' Europa League runs.
Stambouli, coincidentally, also accumulated a mere 12 league appearances last season, while he too saw more regular action in Europe's secondary cup competition. To further the sense of parallel, both men struck just a solitary goal in each of their respective seasons in London, playing as they did in a defensively-minded midfield role.
Watford are willing to take a chance on the pair
Incoming Watford manager Quique Flores, however, seems set to take the challenge on returning both players to top form, with Stambouli praised as one of the French league's most exciting young talents just 12 months ago.
Capoue was thought to be a target for West Brom and Spanish La Liga side Real Sociedad during the January transfer window, but neither side presented Spurs with a sufficiently attractive proposition.
Pochettino is selling before he buys
Now, though, Mauricio Pochettino is looking toline a bulky squad and free up some space on the club's hefty wage bill as he attempts to build on an underwhelming season and find a striker to ease the goalscoring burden on Harry Kane.
Following the surprising departure of fellow midfield misfit Paulinho to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande for a fee close to the £10million mark and Lewis Holtby's move to Hamburg, Pochettino has begun to do just that, bringing in £25million+ to spend on his squad for the loss of four non-starting midfielders should the Watford deal go through.
Hornets target Premier League survival
The Hornets are rebuilding their squad as they look to strengthen ahead of their Premier League return following a second-place finish in the Championship last year, and former Real Madrid and Spain right-back Flores sees top-flight experience as a vital component of a surviving squad.
According to the Daily Mail, they are also on the verge of completing deals to shore up their full-back positions, with the newspaper claiming that Allan Nyom of Udinese is currently in talks with the club to follow Roma's Jose Holebas in making the move from Serie A.