Tottenham Hotspur are keeping tabs on both Pedro Porro and Denzel Dumfries in the January transfer window.
Last Friday, Portuguese publication Record (via Sport Witness) revealed that Fabio Paratici had scheduled a meeting with Sporting Lisbon this week in order to discuss the possibility of bringing Porro to the Premier League - with the Liga Portugal side said to be demanding that the 23-year-old right-back's €45m (£40m) release clause is met.
However, should Paratici fail to reach an agreement with Ruben Amorim's side this month, FC Inter News report that Antonio Conte has identified Inter Milan's Dumfries as an alternative to the Spain international, with the 26-year-old full-back's agent thought to be in London in order to 'deepen the talks' with Spurs regarding the Netherlands star.
In terms of Dumfries' price, the Serie A club are thought to value the defender in the region of €50m (£45m), although the latest reports from Italy are suggesting that Simone Inzaghi's outfit would be willing to accept an offer of just €40m (£35.5m) for the former PSV Eindhoven talent - around £4.5m less than it would cost to land Porro.
Dream Porro alternative
While it is undeniable that a player of Porro's undoubted ability would be a fantastic signing for Paratici to get over the line in January, should Sporting continue to play hardball over the 23-year-old, the argument that Dumfries would represent a dream alternative to the Spaniard is an easy one to make.
Indeed, over his 33 appearances in Serie A last time out, the £45m-rated Dutchman was in sensational form going forwards, scoring five goals, providing four assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.4 crosses per game.
The £54k-per-week right-back has been in similarly fine form going forwards over his 17 league outings this season, having already found the net once, registered two assists and created eight big chances, along with taking 1.3 shots, making 1.1 key passes and completing 0.5 crosses per match.
In comparison, over Porro's 23 Liga Portugal appearances last season, the £22m-rated talent was also in fantastic attacking form, bagging four goals, providing four assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates, while also taking an average of 1.6 shots, making two key passes and completing 1.8 crosses per game.
It has been a similar story over his 13 league outings in the current campaign, with the £10k-per-week defender having already scored one goal, provided five assists and created six big chances, in addition to taking 2.5 shots, making two key passes and completing 1.5 crosses per match.
As such, with Conte himself admitting he prefers his full-backs to be primarily attack-focused than defensively-minded, it is clear to see why the Italian would be interested in both Porro and Dumfries this winter, as the Sporting and Inter duo are arguably two of the most attack-minded right-backs currently playing their football in Europe.
Therefore, should Paratici fail to get a deal over the line for the Spaniard this month, it would indeed appear a wise move for the Italian sporting director to launch an offer for the "deadly" - in the words of journalist Marco Messina - Dumfries, as the 26-year-old would not only cost less than Porro, but he is also a player very much in the same mould as the Sporting star.