Tottenham are interested in a deal to bring Matthijs de Ligt to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Spanish publication Sport (via Sport Witness), who claimed that both Spurs and Chelsea have launched an offensive for the 22-year-old centre-back, with whom Juventus are reportedly willing to part next month due to their dire financial situation.

The report added that Barcelona are also interested in the Netherlands international, although it is believed that the LaLiga club's own financial difficulties look to have given the English duo the advantage in the race to sign the defender.

Finally, Sport went as far as to suggest that the bidding for De Ligt has started, while Sport Witness added that both Spurs and Chelsea have made contact with the centre-back's agent Mino Raiola ahead of a potential move in the winter window.

Conte's next Skriniar

Considering the sheer amount of talent and potential De Ligt quite clearly possesses, should Fabio Paratici be successful in his bid to land the 22-year-old this January, he could well have unearthed Antonio Conte's next Milan Skriniar.

Indeed, Maurizio Sarri signed the £76m-rated defender with the intention of including him as part of a three-man defensive "wall" at Juventus alongside legendary centre-back duo Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

With this formation being the setup that Conte has implemented at every club he has managed, De Ligt could well go on to become the Spurs manager's next Skriniar, who highly impressed on the right of the 52-year-old's back three in the Nerazzurri's Scudetto-winning campaign last term.

It would certainly appear as if the £200k-per-week Dutchman has the ability to do so, as he has been in colossal form over his 15 Serie A appearances so far this season. He has helped Juve to keep seven clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as averaging 0.9 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 53.4 passes per game and winning 60% of his duels.

These returns have seen the player who Raiola dubbed an "oil tanker" average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Massimiliano Allegri's joint-fourth best performer in the Italian top flight.

As such, it is no surprise to learn that Conte is interested in a move for the Dutchman this winter, as De Ligt easily possesses the ability to become the platform on which the Italian and Spurs can mount a serious charge for a top-four spot this season.

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