Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing a move for Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni, according to reports from The Athletic...

What's the story?

They claimed that Spurs are interested in bringing in a new left-sided centre-back in the summer transfer window, with the 22-year-old featuring highly on their shortlist of targets.

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The Italy international is a familiar name to Antonio Conte, having worked under the current Spurs manager in the pair's time at the San Siro, when Bastoni really emerged on the scene.

Spurs' new Vertonghen

Tall, strong, comfortable on the ball and left-footed?

Spurs fans will have fond memories of Jan Vertonghen, their former centre-back who very much fit that description during his time in north London.

The Belgian became a fan favourite following his move from Ajax several years ago, and while the club have brought in the likes of Cristian Romero to bring some added power to their defence, they still haven't found a natural replacement for Vertonghen...until now, perhaps.

Bastoni is very much in that mould of the former Spurs man, with talent scout Jacek Kulig claiming that the 22-year-old is a "complete, dominant and elegant" defender, while adding last summer: "Fantastic young centre-back with some superb ball skills. Perfect to play in a three-man defence. Antonio Conte's talisman."

The Italian attempts 70.9 passes per game, which puts him in the top 5% of centre-backs in Serie A, while he also boasts a score of 94 out of 99 for defending intensity, i.e. how active he is in his defensive approach.

Indeed, Bastoni seems to share a very fond relationship with Conte from their time at Inter, and that should translate well should the pair reunite at Spurs.

A piece from The Athletic revealed: "When Conte arrived at Inter in 2019, Bastoni was a 20-year-old who had not yet played for the first team having spent the previous season out on loan at Parma. But Conte wanted to build with Bastoni, so he was in the Inter squad for the 2019-20 season, and Bastoni was thrilled. It did not take long for him to say that Conte was 'the Messi of coaches', praising his 'exceptional football ideas'."

Valued at £60m by CIES, the Italian could be the perfect heir to Vertonghen at Spurs.

AND in other news: Conte can form "dangerous" duo as Spurs plot bids for £156m pair who "really get along"