Tottenham Hotspur are ramping up their interest in a deal to bring Denzel Dumfries to north London in January.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Italian publication Tuttosport, who claim that both Spurs and Chelsea are now pushing to sign the Inter Milan left-back this winter, with the Serie A side believed to consider the 26-year-old as one of their 'most transferable' assets in the January transfer window.

A further report by fellow Italian media outlet Calciomercato also claims that both Tottenham and the Blues are fighting for the Netherlands international's signature this winter, with the Nerazzurri believed to be commanding a figure in the region of €40m (£34m) to part with the defender at the turn of the year.

Amend Kostic error

With Fabio Paratici missing out on the signing of his and Antonio Conte's long-term wing-back target Filip Kostic this summer, the Italian sporting director could go some way to amending this mistake by beating Chelsea to Dumfries' signature in January.

Indeed, despite the Dutchman playing on the opposite flank to the Serbian, the two players both possess an extremely forward-thinking mindset from full-back - something Dumfries has more than proven during his time at the San Siro thus far.

Over his 33 Serie A appearances in his debut campaign with the club last time out, the £43m-rated flanker scored five goals, registered four assists and created 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.

It has been a similar story over his 15 fixtures so far this season, with the £53k-per-week wing-back having already bagged one goal, provided two assists and created a whopping eight big chances for his side, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.3 dribbles per match.

Putting these returns into context, FBref currently rank the 26-year-old in the top 2% of full-backs in Europe's big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90, in addition to the top 1% for non-penalty xG, the top 2% for shots, the top 15% for xAG, the top 19% for shot-creating actions and the top 1% for touches in the opposition penalty area over the last 365 days.

Not only are these metrics extremely impressive, but they also see FBref list Kostic as Dumfries' most comparable player, proving that the Dutchman's signing would indeed help to mitigate the creativity and attacking prowess Tottenham missed out on when Juventus signed the Serbian - who has scored 76 goals and registered 108 assists over 452 career appearances - this summer.

As such, it would indeed appear highly advisable for Paratici to do all he can to beat Chelsea to the signing of the "deadly" - in the words of Marco Messina - Dumfries this winter, as the Inter full-back would undoubtedly make an exceptional addition to Conte's current options at right wing-back ahead of the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.