Tottenham have joined the growing list of clubs – one of which is rivals Arsenal – interested in Gustavo Varela, a striker whose career has taken a rather extraordinary turn over the past year.

Twelve months ago, the 21-year-old was struggling for minutes on loan at Gil Vicente. Now he’s Serie A’s leading scorer, has earned his first senior Portugal call-up and is attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Spurs are the latest to come knocking, although they’ll have plenty of company if they decide to take their interest any further.

Tottenham enter race for Varela

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reports today that Tottenham, Juventus and Inter have all joined the race for Varela in recent days.

Arsenal were already keeping an eye on him, alongside Napoli and Barcelona, so the competition is getting rather crowded.

The newspaper makes a point of mentioning Tottenham’s difficult situation in the Premier League, while also highlighting their financial strength.

For now, there’s no suggestion of an offer or formal negotiations. Spurs have joined the list of interested clubs, and that’s as far as the information goes.

Varela’s rise has been remarkably quick. He only started getting regular opportunities at Gil Vicente in January, following Pablo Felipe’s move to West Ham.

By the end of last season, he’d managed seven goals and three assists in 33 appearances. Enough to earn himself a move to Italy, although probably not enough to suggest what was coming next.

He’s now scored nine goals in ten Serie A matches for Monza, despite playing for a side battling near the bottom of the table.

And this week brought another milestone. Jorge Jesus has called him into Portugal’s senior squad, with the striker already taking part in training.

Monza have a problem Tottenham can’t easily solve

There’s one fairly obvious complication for Spurs and everyone else watching Varela. Monza don’t want to lose him in January.

A Bola explain that the Italian club see the striker as a crucial part of their fight to stay in Serie A. Selling their leading scorer halfway through that battle would hardly make life easier.

The reported price remains €40-50m (£33.4-41.7m), a remarkable figure considering how little Monza paid for him during the summer.

Benfica, meanwhile, are watching the situation with interest. Their 20% share of any future profit could bring them at least €7.6m (£6.3m) if a deal reaches the lower end of that valuation.

So, his goals have put him on the radar, and his Portugal call-up has added another chapter to the story. Now with Monza fighting relegation and half of Europe apparently watching, January already looks a difficult time to get him out of Italy.