Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol in the summer transfer window.

What's the story?

Reports have claimed that Spurs have drawn up a shortlist of targets to satisfy Antonio Conte's need for a new left-sided centre-back, with Gvardiol figuring among a number of options which includes Inter's Alessandro Bastoni, Lille's Sven Botman and Freiburg's Nico Schlotterbeck.

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The Athletic revealed: "Spurs’ list is headed up by 20-year-old Croatia international Gvardiol, who is also the youngest of these four players. Even though he is only in his first season in one of the major European leagues, he is already one of the most in-demand young defenders on the continent.

"He is extremely highly rated at Leipzig, so much so that if Tottenham wanted him they would likely have to pay a club-record fee to sign him."

Conte will be buzzing

In operating with his usual back-three, Conte has used Cristian Romero on the right side, Eric Dier in the middle and then Ben Davies on the left.

While the Wales international certainly hasn't been a liability for them - he even netted the quick equaliser against Newcastle last week - a more natural left-footed centre-back would certainly be welcome, rather than someone who is more accustomed to playing at left-back.

In an analytics-based profile done on Gvardiol by The Athletic, they noted: "When it comes to defending, Gvardiol looks to be well-trained in the aggressive Leipzig way. He is always active in getting tight to his man (defending intensity 99 out of 99). He is also above average in his frequency of ball recoveries and interceptions (79 out of 99), highlighting how much he likes to step out and read the play."

Germania Sport journalist Izak Ante Sucic told BBC Sport that the young Croatian is "built like a tank" and went on to liken him to a certain Liverpool star.

He said: "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 - Ramos because he's also one of those players who likes to score as many goals as he can.

"In my opinion, I think he can be as good as Virgil one day. When you see how he behaves on the field and off the field, he's one of those guys where you'd say 'he's going to succeed'."

Valued at a mammoth £100m by CIES, Gvardiol could be the kind of game-changing signing to take Spurs to the next level under Conte, who would surely be buzzing if this transfer comes off, and it would be understandable if the north Londoners broke their club record to get him.

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