Tottenham have been encouraged in their pursuit of Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.

The People says Spurs wanted to sign centre-half Vertonghen but the Dutch side were reluctant to sell their 24-year-old skipper while they were still in the Champions League.

But Ajax made an improbable exit as they lost to Real Madrid while Lyon's 7-1 win at Dinamo Zagreb overturned a huge goal-difference deficit.

UEFA will not investigate the bizarre result in Croatia after finding no evidence of illegal betting patterns and Ajax will drop into the Europa League.

That means Spurs will make a £10m move that could tempt Ajax, who need to raise funds.