Paratici could seal Conte's dream summer signing at Spurs in £40.5m-rated "monster" - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur could make Antonio Conte a very happy man this summer…

According to reports in Italy (via Sport Witness), Spurs are in pole position to secure Inter Milan centre-back Stefan de Vrij in the summer as the Serie A champions target a new option in the role.

It’s thought that the 52-year-old head coach would like to reunite with his former defender in north London ahead of next season.

It remains to be seen how much the 30-year-old will cost, with Transfermarkt valuing him at £40.5m.

This would be something of a dream signing for the Italian boss, and not just because he’s very familiar with the Dutch colossus.

Spurs have been exposed in recent matches, losing three successive league games for the first time under Conte, in which they have leaked a whopping seven goals.

Their previous defensive issues under Jose Mourinho have been highlighted once again, especially in the absence of Eric Dier, who missed the trio of matches.

Ultimately, it’s the same backline, aside from Cristian Romero, at the club. Even full-back Ben Davies is taking up a place in the backline due to the lack of options.

De Vrij would go a great way in helping alleviate the issue.

He played a starring role under Conte as they secured the Nerazzurri’s first Scudetto in over a decade – as per WhoScored, the Netherlands international averaged two aerial duels won and 1.3 interceptions per game, along with a 93.8% passing accuracy across 32 appearances.

“Stefan is a great defender and deserves to be at a big club. He’s very tall, he’s strong and fast, he runs a lot – he’s a monster”, former Lazio teammate Mauricio once said of the Inter star (via Football Italia). “He’s a calm defender who never gets agitated.”

De Vrij continues to impress