Tottenham Hotspur could launch a move for Lorenzo Insigne in January, according to emerging claims...

What's the word?

It's believed the north London outfit are in pole position to seal the Italian's signature as Lilywhites head coach Antonio Conte is said to be 'crazy' about signing him.

“The closest team to Lorenzo Insigne is Tottenham. Their executive, Fabio Paratici is courting him closely," journalist Fabio Santini told Il Processo (via Area Napoli).

He later added: “Antonio Conte is crazy about Lorenzo Insigne and would like the player as early as January… Lorenzo Insigne, of course, is flattered by the interest of both Conte and Tottenham, but he is undecided."

Bargain swoop

The 30-year-old dynamo is out of contract in the summer, so he will either be available for free at the end of the season or for a cut-price in January, should Napoli want to cash in on him.

Valued at €20m (£18m) by CIES Football Observatory, Insigne would be an interesting addition to Conte's current squad given his versatility in attack - primarily a left-winger, the 53-time international can also play centrally as a striker and as a no.10.

Despite his contractual situation, Insigne remains captain and a regular influence for Luciano Spalletti, providing five goals and six assists in 18 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

He ranks inside their top four players in the Serie A so far and leads the squad in key attacking metrics, averaging 3.5 shots and 2.1 key passes per game, via WhoScored, who also list his major strengths as including his passing ability, finishing and dribbling.

“Insigne is strong and has personality, the way he plays, the way he dribbles reminds me of Messi," once claimed former teammate Goran Pandev, whilst he has also earned comparisons to Diego Maradona in the past, too.

The diminutive 5 foot 4 maestro has been lauded as having "exceptional" work rate by talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino, so that's another positive in Conte's books.

On the above evidence, Paratici could land quite the bargain in Insigne, should he try to sign him in January.

AND in other news, Journalist drops exciting behind-the-scenes Antonio Conte claim...