Benitez Could Take Advantage of Tottenham's Midfield Overload With Swoop – Report

Rafa Benitez is believed to be eyeing the possibility of making a bid for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele as Napoli look to build on their squad in the race for the Scudetto.

The Italian side are believed to also be pursuing Lucas Leiva and Javier Mascherano but Benitez reportedly believes he can convince Dembele that he will receive more game time, and the chance to challenge for trophies, if he leaves Spurs for Serie A.

Italian paper Il Mattino are reporting that while Tottenham will be wanting to hold onto Dembele, who cost the club £15m in 2012, Napoli are still monitoring his situation as Andre Villas-Boas continues to experiment with his midfield.

Dembele has often been used by Villas-Boas this season, making 19 appearances for Spurs so far. But with the likes of Paulinho, Sandro, Christian Eriksen and Lewis Holtby all competing for places in the middle of the park it would appear the manager hasn't yet fully decided on what his best team is.

And should he feel come January that Tottenham aren't going to realistically push for the title this season - the side are currently fifth in the table but have scored just nine goals in 11 matches - he could be tempted to push for a move to Napoli.

Dembele began his Premier League career making the move from AZ Alkmaar to Fulham in 2010. He became an important member of the west London side's first team squad, garnering attention from Villas-Boas as the manager was arriving at White Hart Lane.

As a result Tottenham activated his release clause, but so far they haven't been able to deliver the Champions League football they had hoped for.

Napoli meanwhile are currently fighting it out in the so-called Champions League group of death and are sitting just four points behind Serie A leaders Juventus in the Serie A table.

And should Benitez feel that Dembele can take the side into first place and win their first Italian title since 1990 he might be willing to make an offer worth considering for Spurs.