Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a move for Denzel Dumfries in the January transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to a report by Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici and Antonio Conte could be set to 'repeat' their summer move for Udinese Calcio left-back Destiny Udogie with the Inter Milan defender, by securing a deal for the 26-year-old this winter and allowing him to remain at the San Siro until the summer.
The report goes on to suggest that Spurs' willingness to do so could see the club take a slight lead over Chelsea in the race for the €40m (£34m) valued Netherlands international, while it is also claimed that Inter could be tempted by a player-plus-cash deal including Emerson Royal - who is 'not particularly loved' by Conte, according to Corriere dello Sport.
Paratici masterclass
Considering just how impressive Dumfries has been for Inter over the last season and a half, coupled with how poor Emerson has been for Spurs in the same period, should Paratici indeed manage to pull off a player-plus-cash deal for the Dutchman in January, it would undoubtedly represent the biggest transfer masterclass of his tenure at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium so far.
Indeed, over Dumfries' 33 Serie A appearances in 2021/22, the £43m-rated wing-back was in exceptional attacking form, scoring five goals, providing four assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.4 crosses per match.
The £53k-per-week talent has continued this fine attacking form over his 15 fixtures in the current campaign, having already hit the back of the net once, registered two assists and created eight big chances for the Nerazzurri, in addition to taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.5 crosses per game.
In comparison, over Emerson's 31 Premier League appearances last time out, the £34.5m-rated full-back was rather less impressive, scoring one goal, providing one assist and creating one big chance for his side, as well as taking an average of 0.5 shots, making 0.9 key passes and completing 0.6 crosses per fixture.
It has been a similar story for the £40k-per-week Brazilian over his 12 top-flight outings this season, scoring no goals, registering one assist and creating no big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 0.8 shots, making 0.4 key passes and completing 0.3 crosses per game.
As such, with Conte known to favour attack-minded wing-backs, it is clear to see the "deadly" - in the words of Marco Messina - Dumfries would be a huge upgrade on the "complete liability" - in the words of Jamie O'Hara - Emerson at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leading us to believe that a swap deal between the two would indeed be a masterclass by Paratici.