Tottenham Hotspur chief Fabio Paratici could get the club rocking again with an audacious move this January transfer window…
What’s the word?
According to Italian outlet Calciomercato (via FourFourTwo), the north Londoners want to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus as the eye him to be Antonio Conte’s first statement signing at Spurs.
Despite costing the Serie A giants around £63m in the summer of 2019, the Dutch international has struggled to make much of an impact at the Allianz Stadium.
The 22-year-old penned a five-year £200k-per-week deal at the time, in which a £125m release clause was included. However, his current value sits around the £63m mark, per Transfermarkt.
De Ligt remedy
This could be quite the statement of intent for the Conte era indeed as de Ligt is widely considered to be one of Europe’s best young talents in his position. That much should be evident from the sizeable investment the Turin outfit made for his signature over two years ago.
Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez, in reality, aren’t reliable enough to be trusted for the long-term and both played their own roles in Spurs having a quite error-prone backline last season.
Meanwhile, it’s clear to see that Italian does not think either Joe Rodon or Japhet Tanganga are ready as he’s utilised left-back Ben Davies in a three-man defence instead.
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And then there is Cristian Romero’s persistent injury problems. He may have picked up yet another knock this international break, so there’s no denying that the new Lilywhites boss could do with an additional centre-back in January.
Spurs have the worst goal difference of any side ranked 14th or above and they have slipped all the way down to ninth in the standings. They could do with a massive spark in 2022 and this signing could do exactly that.
De Ligt currently rates out as Massimiliano Allegri’s fourth-best performer in the Italian top-flight this season, managing a better average WhoScored rating (6.81) than the legendary duo of Giorgio Chiellini (6.73) and Leonardo Bonucci (6.59).
It’s no wonder he has been dubbed an “absolute monster” by European football expert Carlo Garganese as recently as last year.
Meanwhile, his agent Mino Raiola, described his young client as an “oil tanker,” adding: “You can’t expect him to suddenly turn 90 degrees. He goes steadily. But, once he’s on course, he can’t be stopped.”
Also capped 31 times by Holland, the 6 foot 2 colossus would be a signing that Conte would absolutely love to have at the club. His ‘very strong’ ball-playing ability and defensive qualities make him a sure-fire fit to his Italian-based system.
Paratici and co must secure a sensational swoop for de Ligt this January, he could give the whole club a boost with just how huge of a statement it would be.
AND in other news, Kessie and Vlahovic signed? Conte’s terrifying predicted Spurs XI after January masterclass…