Tottenham Hotspur could be handed the chance to bring Milan Skriniar to the Premier League on a free transfer next summer.

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Transfer Focus

That's according to a report by 90min, who claim that, with the centre-back's current deal at Inter Milan set to expire at the end of the current campaign, and with the 27-year-old being yet to put pen to paper on a new deal at the San Siro, Fabio Paratici could be given the chance to sign the Slovakia international on a pre-contract in January.

However, the report goes on to state that Inter's CEO Beppe Marotta is hopeful of agreeing fresh terms with Skriniar prior to the break for the Qatar World Cup this winter. Meanwhile, the likes of Manchester CityManchester UnitedLiverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be keeping a very close eye on the centre-back's situation.

Regarding the future of the defender at the San Siro, Marotta said: "As far as Skriniar, who is absolutely top-class both on and off the pitch, I hope we can agree a new deal very much, and I'm very optimistic that the negotiations can reach a conclusion by November 13. The conditions look to be positive for me to say this."

Conte's dream

Considering just how heavily Spurs have been linked with Skriniar since Antonio Conte's appointment at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last November, should Paratici manage to land the centre-back on a free transfer in January, it would undoubtedly be a dream deal for the Italian and the north London club.

Indeed, Skriniar was a rock at the heart of Conte's title-winning Inter defence in 2020/21, with the £56.5m-rated talent helping his side to keep 12 clean sheets in his 32 Serie A appearances. He also averaged 1.5 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 2.7 clearances and won 3.5 duels (at a success rate of 52%) per game.

The £93k-per-week defender also chipped in for the Nerazzurri going forwards that season, scoring three goals during the campaign in addition to making 62.2 passes, 2.6 long balls and 0.3 key passes per game, demonstrating the 27-year-old's ability to both play out from the back and launch counterattacks.

These returns saw the 54-cap international - who Tibor Goljan dubbed a "leader", Siavoush Fallahi labelled a "monster" and Andy Castell tagged as "unreal" - average a very impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.07, ranking him as Conte's seventh-best performer in Inter's Scudetto-winning campaign.

Furthermore, with FBref ranking Skriniar in the top 3% of centre-backs in Europe's big five leagues for passes completed per 90 - as well as the top 29% for dribbles completed, the top 25% for shots and the top 28% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days - the Slovakian would very much appear to possess the forward-thinking mindset that Conte likes his defenders to have.

As such, considering the 53-year-old's history of success with Skriniar, coupled with the 27-year-old appearing to be a perfect fit for Conte's tactical set-up in north London, the signing of the player who was valued at €80m (£69.5m) this summer on a free transfer would undoubtedly represent something of a dream deal for the Italian coach.