Fabio Paratici is eyeing up a raid on the Italian top-flight for his first signings as Tottenham Hotspur director of football, according to emerging reports...

What's the word?

InterLive.it claim that the 48-year-old is targeting a double swoop on Serie A champions Inter Milan, in which central defender Stefan de Vrij is mentioned.

It's thought that Paratici could offer around €22m (£18.5m) for his signature, with midfielder Marcelo Brozovic the other name mooted by the report.

This isn't the first time that the North London outfit have been linked to the Dutch international in recent weeks as he was considered to be a potential target for Antonio Conte before he pulled out of talks to join the club.

A dream start?

There is a mighty task at hand for both Paratici and incoming manager Paulo Fonseca but a move for De Vrij could be the perfect signing to kickstart the new era at the Lilywhites.

Before either man had arrived at the club, football.london's Alasdair Gold reported that Spurs were wanting to sign two central defenders in the transfer market but they'll need to move a couple on first.

For much of the 2020/21 campaign, Jose Mourinho and then interim Ryan Mason suffered from numerous individual mistakes and a serious lack of cohesion in the backline. Ultimately, this was the defining and worrying theme of their tumultuous season.

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It was so bad at one point that former Spurs midfielder Jamie O'Hara lambasted Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez as "one of the worst partnerships in the Premier League" to talkSPORT, whilst the sacked Portuguese coach utilised over 16 different defensive combinations throughout the year.

De Vrij has emerged as a solid defender over in Italy and could prove to be the difference-maker if signed by Paratici. If Fonseca is to be given the best chance of success, then he needs an addition of this calibre.

The 46-cap defender, who stands at 6 foot 2, played an integral part in Inter's title-winning run, in which they recorded the best defensive record of anyone in the league.

He rated out as one of Conte's best options on the ball, averaging an impressive 93.8% passing accuracy, which eclipses all of Spurs' current defensive options. And even anyone in the squad, including anchorman Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Therefore, he seems to be the perfect fit to sit in the middle of Fonseca's preferred three-man defence.

The £45m-rated colossus also averaged 0.9 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and two aerial duels won per game, via WhoScored, so it's no wonder that former Lazio legend Mauricio dubbed him a "monster" to ESPN (via Football Italia).

Paratici and Levy must look to seal a move for De Vrij this summer as on the above evidence, he'd be a dream signing for Fonseca in North London.

AND in other news, Paratici must ruthlessly axe "underrated" £90k-p/w dud who's held Spurs back for years...