Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Milan Skriniar to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by The Express, who claim that Antonio Conte is keen to bolster his Spurs defence in the winter market, and has placed the Inter Milan centre-back at the top of his January wishlist.

A further report by Football Italia also suggested that the 26-year-old defender - whose contract at the San Siro is set to expire in the summer of 2023 - would be open to a move away from Serie A, while the arrival of Fabio Paratici in north London is also reported to have given Spurs the advantage in the race to sign the Slovakia international this winter.

Alderweireld replacement

It is perhaps one of the worst kept secrets in world football that Tottenham are interested in a deal to sign Skriniar, however, there is a very good reason for the Premier League side's long-term pursuit of the centre-back - particularly now Conte is at the helm.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances last season, the £54m-rated defender was in imperious form, helping his side keep 12 clean sheets and scoring three goals, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, 1.5 tackles, 62.6 passes, 2.7 clearances and winning 3.5 duels per game.

These returns saw the player who journalist David Amoyal dubbed a "beast" earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Conte's seventh-best performer in Inter's scudetto-winning campaign.

And, with Toby Alderweireld having left Tottenham last summer, there is very much room for another centre-back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, particularly if one of either Joe Rodon or Davinson Sanchez, who have both been linked with a January departure, do indeed go on to leave the club next month.

As such, considering just how impressive the £90k-per-week defender who Tibor Goljan claimed has "always been the leader" was for Conte's Inter last season, in addition to Spurs' need for an upgrade in the position, it would seem a very wise move indeed for Paratici to do all he can to get a deal over the line for the 26-year-old this January.

In other news: Lost 100% duels: £25m-rated THFC dud who made just 8 passes failed Conte's test v CPFC