Tottenham Hotspur are expected to reignite their interest in Arthur Dias in January, but their pursuit may have just got much harder.According to reports, Spurs failed with a late move for a young Brazilian centre-back Arthur Dias in the summer window.The 19-year-old centre-back has had an outstanding 12 months for Athletico Paranaense and looks set to be one of the next big Brazilian exports to Europe.Just a few days ago, it emerged that Tottenham are ‘among the most proactive suitors’ of Diaz ahead of the January window, having already held conversations with the teenager and his representatives in the summer.Photo by Gabriel Machado/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesTottenham target Arthur Dias impresses Barcelona’s scoutsAccording to a new report in Globo Esporte (as relayed by Sport Witness), Barcelona’s head of scouting, Joao Amaral, was in Brazil a few days ago to watch Diaz against Bahia.Amaral, who is described as the right-hand man of Barcelona sporting director Deco, watched the young defender in action alongside agent Lucio Araujo, who is also said to be close to the Barca director.Athletico Paranaense emerged 2-1 winners, with Dias being one of the best players on the pitch. Although a centre-back by trade, the teenager played as a right-back in the fixture, registering seven defensive contributions.The 19-year-old also completed 56 of his 60 attempts, with 21 of those passes coming in the Bahia half.The defender certainly put on a show for the Barca officials in attendance, which raises the possibility that Tottenham would face a new challenger in the race for the youngster.Three Premier League clubs could also battle Spurs for DiasWhile Barca may be the newest entrant into the race for Dias’ signature, they are not the only ones that Tottenham need to be concerned about.As per a previous update from TEAMtalk, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford could challenge the Lilywhites for the Brazil U20 international.The website also claimed that RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta, Como, Atlético Madrid and Benfica are also keeping tabs on the centre-back ahead of the January window.READ MORE: ‘He’s making progress’ – Tottenham fans will love latest Dejan Kulusevski updateThe post Tottenham suffer transfer blow as Barcelona join 11-horse race for Brazilian starlet appeared first on Spurs Web.