Paratici could land Alaba 2.0 as Spurs eye £80m target who "everyone is talking about" - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Josko Gvardiol to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that the RB Leipzig defender is one of Antonio Conte’s top transfer targets for the left-sided centre-back role in his three-man backline, despite the fact the 20-year-old would likely set Tottenham back an extremely large fee.

A further report by the same publication claimed that Daniel Levy would have to pay a club-record fee – currently Tanguy Ndombele’s £63m signing from Lyon back in 2019 – in order to land the Croatia international this summer, with Jack Pitt-Brooke suggesting the former Dinamo Zagreb starlet will cost around £80m.

Considering the sheer amount of potential Gvardiol quite clearly possesses, it is not difficult to see why Conte would be interested in a deal to bring the 20-year-old to north London in the summer transfer window.

Indeed, according to FBref data, the £102m-rated talent ranks in the top 3% of centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues for interceptions per 90, as well as the top 16% for pressures, the top 23% for blocks and the top 24% for tackles over the last 365 days.

The £21k-per-week defender is also extremely creative with the ball at his feet, with FBref ranking him in the top 4% of centre-backs for passes attempted per 90, the top 3% for progressive passes, the top 1% for dribbles completed, the top 6% for progressive carries and the top 6% for progressive passes received over the last year.

Furthermore, it is evident that Gvardiol also causes the opposition problems in an attacking capacity, with FBref ranking the centre-back in the top 7% of his peers for shot-creating actions per 90, in addition