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

That's according to a recent report by Football Insider, who claim that sources have revealed Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici have regularly sent scouts to watch the Brentford centre-forward in action this season, with the 53-year-old manager believed to be hoping to add a powerful and Premier League-proven forward to his Spurs squad this winter.

However, with Manchester United, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Leeds United all reported to be interested in signing the 26-year-old striker in the summer transfer window, as well as Fabrizio Romano revealing that the Bees are likely to demand a figure in the region of £45m in order to part with the attacker, a deal would not appear easy to get over the line for Tottenham.

Conte's next Lukaku

Considering just how impressive Toney has been for Brentford since their promotion to the Premier League back in 2021, in addition to the centre-forward very much being the type of physical, dangerous and deadly striker Conte likes to have at his disposal, it is easy to see why Spurs would be interested in a move to bring the Brentford star to north London.

Indeed, over his 33 league fixtures last season, the £17.5m-rated forward wasted no time in making his mark in the top flight, scoring 12 goals, registering five assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.7 shots, making 1.3 key passes and winning 8.6 duels - at a success rate of 53% - per game.

These returns saw the 26-year-old average a simply sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.31, not only ranking him as Thomas Franks' second-best performer in the league last time out but also as the 15th-best player in the Premier League as a whole.

It has been a similar case for the £21k-per-week hitman over his nine league fixtures so far this term, with the striker having already bagged six goals, provided two assists and created four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots, making 1.3 key passes and winning 6.2 duels - per game.

These returns have seen the player who journalist Phil Spencer dubbed an "absolute machine" average an equally astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.31, currently ranking him as Brentford's best performer in the league, as well as the joint 23rd-best player in the Premier League in its entirety.

And, with Toney quite clearly being a player who is incredibly deadly in the final third, in addition to a real handful for centre-backs as a result of his physical presence up top, there are clear similarities that can be drawn between the Brentford attacker and one of Conte's former centre-forward sensations - Romelu Lukaku.

Indeed, the £43m-rated Inter Milan loanee was in devastating form under the management of the Italian at the San Siro, scoring 64 goals and registering 17 assists over his 95 appearances under the 53-year-old coach, while the 29-year-old also possesses a similarly imposing physique to that of Toney.

As such, should Paratici be successful in his pursuit of the 26-year-old striker this winter, he could well have unearthed Conte's next Lukaku at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - a prospect that is sure to be incredibly tantalising for both the Italian manager and Spurs supporters alike.