Paratici and Conte now eyeing Spurs swoop for £45m-rated "machine", he's Eriksen 2.0 - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur could look to swoop for James Ward-Prowse to bolster their homegrown quota this summer…

That’s according to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, who claims the Southampton skipper is among the options to replace Harry Winks, should he leave the north London outfit.

It’s thought that Spurs had agreed on a deal to sign the England international three years ago but did not pull the trigger – he’s now worth a lot more than then.

CIES Football Observatory currently estimate his worth to be in the region of €50m (£45m).

Spurs have long lacked a playmaking talent capable of delivering from dead-ball situations and open play – ever since the departure of Christian Erisken in January 2020, to be more precise.

The likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli have all struggled to cement their place as a creative, attacking midfield option, with all three failing to end the 2021/22 campaign in a Spurs shirt.

Ward-Prowse, however, has continued to deliver on the Premier League stage, all for a somewhat struggling Saints side.

In each of the last four top-flight seasons, the Englishman has delivered at least five goals and three assists, including ten goals and five assists last season, via WhoScored.

Furthermore, the 27-year-old maestro ranks amongst the top 15% of his positional peers in the Premier League for shot-creating actions (3.16 per 90), as well as the top 1% of inswinging and outswinging corners and top 3% for passes from free-kicks, per FBref.

It’s no wonder he has been lauded as a “machine” by Southampton boss Hasenhuttl and compared to David Beckham by ex-Spurs striker Peter Crouch.

As such, it would be a very wise move for sporting director Fabio Paratici to make, given the need to