Tottenham are hoping to secure a pre-contract agreement with French midfielder Moussa Sissoko who could end up replacing Jake Livermore at White Hart Lane.

A report in the Daily Mail states that Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has decided that Livermore can leave the club during the January transfer window, either on-loan or in a permanent deal if the right offer is made.

Jake Livermore
Jake Livermore in action for Spurs in the Europa League [Reuters]

The 23-year-old forced his way into the first team under previous manager Harry Redknapp but has struggled to make the same impact under Villas-Boas and appears to have fallen down the pecking order.

Livermore has found himself behind Sandro, Moussa Dembele, Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone, while Thomas Carroll has also begun to push for a place in the first team squad after impressing while playing in the Europa League.

The midfielder was handed his England debut last year and has been mentioned as a possible target for Queens Park Rangers. In fact Redknapp admitted at his press conference on Friday morning that he was a huge fan of Livermore but admitted that it would come down to whether Tottenham would let him go.

"Jake's a good player and I've got bags of time for him," said Redknapp. "It's a possibility. If Tottenham want to do something, it'd certainly interest me."

If Livermore did complete his move then it seems as though his place in the squad could go to Toulouse midfielder Sissoko. The 23-year-old has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Premier League and is out of contract in the summer.

Moussa Sissoko
Moussa Sissoko is a regular in the Toulouse side but has refused to sign a new contract [Reuters]

The Times has reported that the France international has also courted interest from Arsenal, Newcastle, AC Milan and Juventus. However, they believe that Tottenham are close to agreeing a deal that would see Sissoko move on a free in the summer.

Tottenham have long been aware of the talent of Sissoko who first broke into the Toulouse first team back in 2007 when he was just a teenager and he has since gone on to make close to 200 appearances for the club.

Having represented at France at every youth level he forced his way into the senior side and featured in the 1-1 draw with Spain last October.