Tottenham Hotspur have received some bad news in their rumoured pursuit of a highly-rated La Masia product.

The January window is fast approaching, and while Tottenham are expected to prioritise signing a striker in the winter, there are also a couple of other positions where they need reinforcements.

One of those is at right-back, where Archie Gray has served as Pedro Porro’s cover this term following the departure of Djed Spence in the summer.

A few days ago, it emerged that Tottenham and Arsenal are set to battle it out for Barca starlet Xavi Espart, who has impressed for the Catalan club at the start of the season.

The outlet claimed that the two North London clubs would have to fork out around €40m-€50m (£34m-£42m) to sign the teenager, but a new update has contradicted that claim.

Barcelona’s decision on Xavi Espart comes as a big blow for Tottenham

TEAMtalk have now claimed that Barca have made an ’emphatic decision’ on the future of the versatile full-back after learning of interest from the Premier League.

The report says that the La Liga giants view Espart as ‘untouchable’ after his impressive start to the campaign, and they have decided to reject any offers that come their way.

The 19-year-old’s release clause currently stands at €100m (£84m), which shows just how highly Barca rate him.

Additionally, the player himself is said to be loving life at the club and is keen to establish himself at his boyhood team and achieve success there.

As a result, it is asserted that an immediate transfer is off the table and it would take an ‘absolutely exceptional offer’ to change Barca’s stance.

Could Spurs pursue a swap deal for Espart?

It has been widely reported over recent weeks that Barcelona are keen on landing Pedro Porro, with Hansi Flick having identified the Tottenham man as the ideal fit for his system.

Some sources have also claimed that the Spurs right-back is increasingly convinced that his time at N17 is about to end, and is keen on a move back to his country.

If Barca do express an interest in Porro and the experienced full-back does push to join Camp Nou, Tottenham may be tempted to ask for Espart to be included in the deal.