Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Kalvin Phillips to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to a report by The Telegraph, who claim that the Leeds United defensive midfielder is one of a number of players on Antonio Conte's list of transfer targets in the summer market, with the signing of a new player in the 26-year-old's position believed to be a priority for the 52-year-old ahead of Spurs' 2022/23 campaign.
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However, further reports claim that the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Liverpool and Manchester City are also interested in a move for the England international this summer, with the Whites' expected to demand a figure in the region of £60m in order to part with their academy graduate.
Conte's next Kante
Considering just how impressive Phillips has been for Leeds since the Whites' promotion to the Premier League back in 2020, it is easy to see why Conte would be interested in a deal to bring the deep-lying playmaker to north London this summer.
Indeed, while a hamstring injury kept the £45m-rated talent sidelined for a large portion of 2021/22, the 26-year-old undoubtedly proved his ability over 29 Premier league appearances in the season prior, scoring one goal, providing two assists and creating five big chances, as well as making an average of 1.2 key passes, taking 0.5 shots and completing 0.7 dribbles per game.
The £38k-per-week defensive midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 1.7 clearances, completing 41.0 passes and winning 5.3 duels - at a success rate of 52% - per fixture.
These returns saw the player who Scott Saunders dubbed "unreal" average a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Leeds' best player in the league but also as the ninth-best midfielder in the top flight as a whole.
For comparison, over N'Golo Kante's - a player who is widely considered to be one of the best holding midfielders currently playing the game, as well as being a former disciple of Conte - 26 Premier League outings in 2021/22, the £45m-rated France international scored two goals, registered four assists and created three big chances, as well as making an average of 0.9 key passes, taking 0.7 shots and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.
The 31-year-old also made an average of 1.2 interceptions, 2.3 tackles, 0.3 clearances, completed 43.1 passes and won 4.6 duels - at a success rate of 57% - per fixture - with these metrics seeing the Chelsea star average a SofaScore match rating of 7.12.
As such, it is clear for all to see that, should Paratici manage to fight off the competition for Phillips this summer, the Italian sporting director could well have landed Conte his next Kante at Spurs - something that would undoubtedly provide Tottenham's chances of success in the upcoming campaign with a substantial boost.
AND in other news: Contact made: Paratici now in talks for £43m Spurs target, he's "out of the ordinary"