Tottenham have had a late bid to sign Marc Guehi rejected by Crystal Palace.

The problem with this bid, however, is that it is far too reactive and far too late. Spurs should have been proactive in their approach to transfers from the very opening of the January window and they have failed. Miserably.

Spurs have needed a new centre-back for the entirety of the January transfer window - and much before, though they could not do anything about it then.

READ MORE: Joao Felix has already sent Tottenham six-word message after Spurs transfer 'interest'

READ MORE: Tottenham transfer news LIVE - £70m Marc Guehi bid, Leon Bailey hijack, Axel Disasi stance

There has been interest in Guehi since last summer and Spurs will no doubt continue to be linked with a move heading into this summer's transfer window. But why has it taken so long to make a move this winter?

Palace rejected the offer over the weekend, meaning it took Tottenham at least 31 days to place a bid for the 24-year-old. Why?

Both Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have been out of action since returning to the first team fold too early in the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at the beginning of December. Spurs have been without their first-choice centre-back pairing for two months, and spent time without them even before that Chelsea game.

That's two months of planning to bring in an extra signing to complement what is already there. Two months to ease the pressure on 18-year-old Archie Gray, playing out of position, and 22-year-old Radu Dragusin, still fairly new to the league and the country.

Guehi is not a sudden breakthrough star. He has been doing it in the Premier League for a little while now and, as we mentioned above, Spurs were interested in the summer.

Bringing Guehi to north London should have been the club's top priority when the transfer window opened on January 1. that was how important it was to sign another centre-back.

Of course, Tottenham have brought in another defender, signing Kevin Danso from Lens. But that deal was only concluded on Sunday - February 2 - and the injury to Dragusin has increased the pressure to sign another player in that defensive line.

Had Spurs acted early on in the transfer window, Palace may well have been more receptive to a bid. It would then, potentially have been before the Eagles lost Trevoh Chalobah to a loan recall from Chelsea. It would also have given Palace time to seek out and sign a replacement.

Now, Palace may well lose money on Guehi, with his contract only having a year left to run by the time the summer transfer window opens. But his value to them in the second half of this season far outweighs the decrease in figure between now and the summer.

Spurs may well go back in for Guehi in the summer, but there are sure to be a host of other clubs interested by then too, with Newcastle seeing bids rejected last summer. A short-term option may have made more sense, given Romero and Van de Ven probably remain first choice when they're back; but that does not make up for the fact that there was a top quality option there to sign and Spurs put in a half-hearted attempt to make it happen.

Romero has been linked with a move away for some time now and if that happens, a permanent signing is required. Making a bid this late in the window for an outstanding candidate smacks of a 'look, we tried' offering to the supporters.

The supporters' patience is wearing thin, however. It has taken far too long for Spurs to get deals done and we may well not see any on deadline day at all, despite Ange Postecoglou's continued calls for help. And that will be a travesty.