Antonio Conte wants to bring Dusan Vlahovic to Tottenham Hotspur, according to emerging reports...

What's the word?

Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla (via Sport Witness) claims that Spurs have already held talks with Fiorentina over a potential deal ahead of the January transfer window.

It's thought that the 52-year-old head coach has already asked Lilywhites sporting director Fabio Paratici to make it happen, so the north Londoners have emerged a serious candidate to secure the young striker.

La Viola are expected to sell Vlahovic either in January or the summer but currently value him between €60m (£51m) and €70m (£56.7m), though that could drop by €10m (£8.5m) before next season.

Lukaku-like talisman

In the Serbian forward, Conte could find his next Romelu Lukaku, who delivered bags of goals under the Italian at Inter Milan, helping steer them to their first Serie A title in over a decade last season.

As per Transfermarkt, the Belgian powerhouse - who is now at Conte's former club and Spurs' rivals Chelsea - scored 64 goals in 95 appearances, averaging one every 122 minutes.

Vlahovic is a similarly physically imposing presence and one that clearly has an impressive eye for goal, too, having already scored ten times in 13 games this campaign, adding to his 21 goals during the 2020/21 campaign.

He would be a considerable investment in the region of £50m but given the system that Conte is likely to play, it would be a wise decision for Paratici to bolster the squad with another frontman. And the Fiorentina star should sit atop their list, that's for sure.

The 21-year-old has been dubbed a "complete number nine" by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, whilst he has been likened to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and has been said to be 'up there' with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in terms of young attacking talent in Europe.

Valued at £45m by Transfermarkt, the Belgrad-born talisman could well be Conte's next Lukaku, playing alongside Harry Kane in the English top-flight. After all, he deployed the Belgian next to Lautaro Martinez, so there's certainly room for two prolific marksmen in N17.

Also dubbed a "machine" by scout Jacek Kulig, Vlahovic would be a massive coup for Conte's Spurs. They must look to sign his key target at all costs this winter.

AND in other news, Spurs reporter Alasdair Gold drops exciting Antonio Conte tactical claim...