Italian football expert Conor Clancy has dropped his verdict on reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Antonin Barak.

What's been said?

In a recent interview with Football FanCast, Clancy stated his belief that the 27-year-old Hellas Verona midfielder, who has recently been linked with a €20m (£17m) summer move to Tottenham, needs to leave his current club in order to progress his career, before going on to claim that the Czech Republic international could go on to become Antonio Conte's next Dejan Kulusevski at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Concerning the future of Barak, the journalist said: "I do think, this isn't going to sound great to Verona, but he needs to leave Verona to really realise his true potential, because he's shown a lot there. But, there's always a ceiling with Verona - they're not even in Europe, they're not going to qualify for the Europa League even.

"So, if he wants to kick on he needs to leave and I think if he went to Spurs he could really kick on. In a Conte team, we've seen Kulusevski do what everybody who watched him knew he was capable of doing, and I think Barak could be quite similar in that way. He could go to England and explode."

Kulusevski 2.0

Considering just how impressive Barak has been in Italy this season, it is not difficult to understand why Conte would be keen to bring the attacking midfielder to north London this summer, nor is it hard to see why Clancy believes that the 27-year-old could go on to become Spurs' next Kulusevski.

Indeed, over his 29 Serie A appearances in the current campaign, the £18m-rated talent has been in breathtaking form for Igor Tudor's side, scoring 11 goals, providing four assists and creating three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots, making 1.0 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the £15k-per-week midfielder average a quite sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.05, ranking him as Hellas' second-best player in the Italian top-flight - playing a key role in his side's push to secure a top-half finish this term.

Furthermore, according to FBref data, the 30-time capped international also contributes greatly in a defensive capacity, with Barak ranking in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe's big five leagues for clearances per 90, as well as the top 5% for ariel duels won and the top 15% for blocks over the last 365 days.

As such, should the 27-year-old be able to replicate this level of form following a potential switch to Tottenham this summer, it is not difficult to imagine the midfielder having a similar impact on Conte's side to the eight-assist Kulusevski - something that leads us to believe Fabio Paratici simply must do all he can to get a £17m deal over the line for the Czechia sensation in the coming months.

AND in other news: Fabrizio Romano reveals big Spurs transfer twist that will leave supporters fuming