Goalkeeper Brandon Austin is set to make a long-awaited Tottenham debut against Newcastle on Saturday, talkSPORT understands.
Under-pressure manager Ange Postecoglou is without back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster due to a sickness bug in the Tottenham camp.
First-choice Guglielmo Vicario remains out with a long-term ankle injury.
Austin joined Spurs nine years ago but has never made a competitive senior appearance in English football.
Tottenham are without a number of players due to injury and suspension, including first-choice defenders Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
Postecoglou’s men are currently 11th and in the middle of their worst league run since 2008, having failed to win any of their last three matches.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have won their last four top-flight fixtures by an aggregate score of 13-0, with striker Alexander Isak in red-hot form.
Austin spent time on loan at Danish club Viborg FF in 2019 and MLS side Orlando City in 2021.
The 25-year-old goalkeeper signed a new long-term contract with Tottenham in May 2024 and it was expected he would become second-choice behind Vicario.
Austin is known to be gifted with the ball at his feet, having made 78 appearances for Tottenham’s various youth teams.
Although Forster is unwell, question marks about his suitability to Spurs’ style have come up in Vicario’s absence, with Tottenham conceding 15 goals in their last seven outings.
Against Manchester United in the 4-3 League Cup win, Forster was at fault for two goals, but has retained his manager’s backing.
Postecoglou is said to be eyeing a move for Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone this month as Spurs desperately seek cover between the sticks.
talkSPORT understands Tottenham are also considering a January swoop for AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori.
Newcastle, West Ham and Brentford are also keen on the former Chelsea centre-back amid his recent struggles in Italy.
Speaking on Friday, under-pressure Postecoglou said: “It’s not a matter of pushing but I think the club are working hard to try and sort of get some help for the playing group and it’s no secret, we need to bolster our numbers up a little bit. January is not an easy month.
“We understand it’s not an easy time to bring people in particularly quickly. At the same time we still want to make sure we do what we think is the best thing for us rather than sort of just, you know, panic and bring people in who aren’t going to be a suitable fit.
“They are not having New Year parties, they are out there working trying to improve our situation and they’ll continue to do so.”
Tottenham vs Newcastle is live on talkSPORT at 12.30 on Saturday.