Tottenham Hotspur will need a "crazy fee" that would smash their club record to sign mooted target Josko Gvardiol this summer...

What's the word?

The RB Leipzig defender is someone hugely admired by the Spurs hierarchy as they look to bolster Antonio Conte's backline for the 2022/23 campaign but according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, it's going to take an extortionate amount to lure him to north London.

"Gvardiol’s always been super appreciated by Tottenham and also by Chelsea because also Chelsea are big fans of Gvardiol. But at the moment, Leipzig have no intention to negotiate for a normal fee," he told GIVEMESPORT.

"They want a crazy fee to let Gvardiol leave this summer, so it will be difficult."

As per CIES Football Observatory, the young Croatian gem is valued in the region of €120m (£102m).

Meanwhile, Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic claimed back in April that it could take a fee of around £80m to secure his signature, some £25m more than what Spurs paid for Tanguy Ndombele in 2019.

Best signing since Son?

If the 20-year-old colossus is indeed of interest to Spurs, then sporting director Fabio Paratici ought to try and secure him as it would be a major coup heading into a massive season.

The Lilywhites will be competing in the Champions League and will be wanting to contend on all fronts, meaning rotation and strength in depth will be required.

Conte has some solid defensive options already, with Cristian Romero and Eric Dier two of the first names on the teamsheet but adding Gvardiol could genuinely be a game-changer for the squad.

Spurs have had plenty of success when signing players from the Bundesliga, with Heung-min Son's move from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 most notable. Well, signing a player of Gvardiol's potential could certainly eclipse that one day - you'd very much hope so considering the price tag.

Already in his relatively short career to date, the Croatia international has earned comparisons to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, as well as plenty of praise from those that have watched him in action regularly.

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"Since he was a child, he's been built like a tank. He can go forward, he can jump, he can tackle - he can do everything you want," once claimed Germania Sport assistant editor Izak Ante Sucic.

"In Croatia, we like to compare him to Virgil van Dijk, because he's built that way (6 foot 1). He's one of his role models in football and he's also mentioned Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos."

Meanwhile, former Bayern striker and Croatia international Ivica Olic believes he is an "extraordinary talent" and a "fine technician."

Gvardiol is one of Europe's hottest defenders right now, when compared to his positional peers across the 'big five' divisions, he ranks inside the top 3% for interceptions (3.29) per 90, as well as the top 1% for dribbles completed (0.89), the top 3% for progressive passes (5.31) and the top 4% for passes attempted (77.33) per 90.

With those stats coming from FBref, it suggests that the Leipzig man has solid defensive intelligence and awareness, being able to read the game to a top 3% level in Europe, whilst also being equally adept with the ball at his feet.

As such, on the above evidence, it's easy to see why Spurs would be interested in signing Gvardiol. If they can manage to seal him for what would be a club-record signing, then Conte and Paratici may well seal the club's best signing since Son.

He'd be worth every penny of that £80m.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano drops exciting Spurs transfer claim...