Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Denzel Dumfries to north London in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Italian media outlet Calciomercato.it (via Sport Witness), who claim that Antonio Conte is looking to sign a new right wing-back in the winter market, and has ear-marked the Inter Milan flanker as one of his top targets for the position.

The report goes on to state that, while the 26-year-old is believed to be valued at a figure of around €50m (£44m) by the Serie A side, Conte could look to send Emerson Royal to the San Siro as part of the deal for the Netherlands international - something that would reportedly tempt the Nerazzurri.

Bin Emerson, get Dumfries

Considering just how impressive Dumfries has been for Inter since his €14m (£12.2m) move to Italy back in the summer of 2021, coupled with how poor Emerson has been for Spurs since his £26m switch to north London the same summer, it is easy to see why Conte would be interested in a player-plus-cash deal for the 26-year-old.

Indeed, over his 33 Serie A appearances in his debut campaign at the San Siro last time out, the £44m-rated Dumfries was in exceptional form going forwards, scoring five goals, registering four assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

In comparison, over Emerson's 31 Premier League fixtures in 2021/22, the £35m-rated full-back was in rather less deadly form, scoring one goal, providing one assist and creating one big chance, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per outing.

It has been a similar story in the current campaign, with the £54k-per-week Dutchman having already scored one goal, registered two assists and created eight big chances over 14 league appearances, while the £40k-per-week Brazilian has scored no goals, provided one assist and created no big chances over his 11 top flight fixtures this term.

As such, with Conte known to prefer his wing-backs to be more attack-minded than defensive, it is clear that the "difference maker" Dumfries would be a much better fit to the Italian's tactical set-up in north London, leading us to believe that an Emerson-plus-cash deal for the 37-cap star would be an unbelievable deal for Spurs to pull off this winter.