Rumours have surfaced that Juande Ramos is on the verge of making a move for Man City's star midfielder Michael Johnson in the summer. The England under 21 midfielder is also being monitored closely by Arsenal and Liverpool.

However, it seems that much like the transfer of Luka Modric; Spurs have stolen a march on their rivals and will make a swoop on one of the Premiership's hottest prospects.

Arsenal had reportedly lined up Johnson as a successor to the outbound Mathieu Flamini - who joined AC Milan - but Tottenham are more than likely to cough up the £12 million required to lure City into a sale.

Johnson is probably more likely to be willing to leave Manchester City should Sven-Goran Eriksson be, as expected, fired by chairman Thaksin Shinawatra at the end of the season.