Tottenham are expected to make a formal move for Gent striker Gift Orban before the end of the transfer window but the club have prioritised outgoings in the wake of Harry Kane's departure for Bayern Munich.
Spurs have struggled to offload players this summer - with only Harry Winks, Joe Rodon and Kane so far leaving the club - and after Sunday's opening Premier League game at Brentford head coach Ange Postecoglou reiterated that clearing the decks is now the priority.
Tanguy Ndombele, Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Sergio Reguilon and Japhet Tanganga were also all left out of the squad for the 2-2 draw in west London and are free to leave Spurs, along with Davinson Sanchez, who featured from the bench.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg can go for the right price and is a target for Atletico Madrid.
Promising midfielder Alfie Devine is among the youngsters expected to go out on loan but Dane Scarlett, the 19-year-old England youth international striker, travelled to Brentford and is set to remain as part of Postecoglou's squad, at least until summer signing Alejo Veliz adjusts.
Eric Dier was also left out of the matchday squad on Sunday but remains committed to Spurs and Postecoglou says the centre-half is part of his plans.
Ndombele, a £55million signing in the summer of 2019, has attracted interest from Fenerbahce and Galatasaray but is said to be reluctant to move to Turkey.
“We just can't keep bringing players in, we need to move some players out,” Postecoglou said. “That's kind of where our focus is right now.
“Over the next three weeks what we don't want to do is have it all happen really late in the window which means we're caught short in any areas. It's got to work that way. We can't just keep accumulating players. We've got a massive squad as it is at the moment and we need to work on that.
“Over the next three weeks the priority is to trim the squad down and see where we're at and then fill the gaps where we need to fill the gaps.”
Spurs are conscious they could face competition for Orban, 21, who is valued at more than £25million by Gent but believe the Nigerian has enormous potential.
Postecoglou has also said he would like to sign another centre-half, which would likely depend on offloading Sanchez and Tanganga.
Asked about Dier's absence on Sunday, the Australian said: “Eric is part of this team. We left a few out.
“We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it's not about 11 players. Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He's working hard in training and available for selection.”
