An update has emerged on Tottenham Hotspur and their interest in signing Stefan de Vrij ahead of the January transfer window...
What's the talk?
According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Spurs are one of the clubs keen on a deal to snap up the central defender from Inter Milan in 2023.
The report claims that fellow Premier League side Manchester United and unnamed MLS outfits are also eyeing up the Dutch international.
It is stated that Antonio Conte wants to be reunited with the 30-year-old defender as he was one of the coach's 'pillars' during their time together at the San Siro.
His contract with Inter is up at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether Tottenham want to sign him on a cut-price deal in January or for a free next summer.
Lenglet upgrade
Clement Lenglet is currently on loan, from Barcelona, at Spurs until the end of the season and has yet to prove that he is worth pursuing on a permanent basis.
The Frenchman has played nine times in the Premier League this season and averaged an unimpressive Sofascore rating of 6.78, after averaging a score of 6.67 in La Liga across 21 matches for the Catalan giants last term.
These statistics show that he has struggled to impress on the pitch at Barcelona and now with Tottenham and the club could look to the January transfer window, or next summer, to sign an upgrade on him.
De Vrij, who was once dubbed a "monster" by his former teammate Mauricio, could be exactly that as he has proven his quality in the Italian top-flight over the course of a number of years and has already worked with Conte.
He played a whopping 88 matches in two seasons with the current Spurs coach and was crucial to Inter's 2020/21 title-winning campaign.
The £120k-per-week enforcer averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.03 across 32 matches as Conte led the side to glory in the Serie A, with the Dutch international winning 60% of his duels and helping the team to keep 11 clean sheets.
Between the 2015/16 and 2020/21 seasons, de Vrij averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.03 or higher and this shows that he was able to maintain a consistently brilliant level of performance over an extended period of time, although his score of 6.87 in the current campaign is a slight dip from his usual levels.
These statistics indicate that he could be an upgrade on Lenglet in terms of what he offers week-in-week-out at the back. He was one of the pillars of Conte's team at Inter and he could arrive at Spurs to do the same job in the Premier League, if Fabio Paratici can secure his signature in the coming weeks.