Nice owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe would not stand in the way of Jean-Clair Todibo joining Tottenham in January, despite Manchester United's long-standing interest in the centre-back.

Ratcliffe is closing in on a deal to buy 25 per cent of United from the Glazers and is set to assume control of the club's football operations.

However, the impending deal is not expected to complicate Spurs' pursuit of Todibo, provided the London club meet Nice's asking price for the 23-year-old, believed to be north of £35million.

Spurs have entered talks with the Ligue 1 club over the France international defender and are currently thought to be ahead of United in the race for his signature.

Nice are prepared to do a deal with Spurs for the right price, rather than hold out for United.

Spurs have also held discussions with Todibo's representatives and are understood to have guaranteed him he will have a prominent first-team role alongside Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

Todibo, however, remains of interest to a host of other top European clubs, and Spurs could still face fierce competition from the likes of United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and AC Milan for his signature in January.

Spurs have made a centre-back their top priority in January and Ange Postecoglou has called on the club to change tack and do their business at the start of the month.

Van de Ven has been sidelined with a hamstring problem since hobbling off against Chelsea on November 6, while Romero is one yellow card away from a second suspension of the season.

Full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies have deputised at centre-back, with Eric Dier - who is out of contract in the summer - not in Postecoglou's long-term plans, and summer signing Ashley Phillips, 18, still inexperienced.