Paratici eyes Spurs summer bargain in "special" 109-goal demon, Conte badly needs him - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a move for Andrea Belotti this summer…

That’s according to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), who claim that manager Antonio Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici will attempt to bring the 28-year-old to north London upon the expiry of his contract at Torino.

It’s believed that he wouldn’t be signed as a starter due to Harry Kane’s role at the club. However, he’d be considered as a solid backup to the England talisman.

Napoli are also keen on the Italy international, though the player is less sold on that potential move.

Bringing the 5 foot 11 marksman to Hotspur Way would be something of a bargain for Paratici and Conte as they desperately need reinforcements in attack, where Kane is the only senior centre-forward option.

It would be a low-risk signing given that they wouldn’t have to pay a fee for the European champion, one valued at £25.2m – often, the club have had to splash out on backups in this regard. Roberto Soldado cost £26m, Vincent Janssen cost £17m and Fernando Llorente cost £12m.

Belotti has proven to be quite the prolific goalscorer during his time in Turin, with 109 goals in 244 appearances. He has bagged double figures in every season barring the current one, as he has been blighted by injury worries, and that includes a career-best of 28 goals in 2016/17, via Transfermarkt.

Former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart has previously lauded his former teammate and his ability to lead the line. He told Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio during a loan stint at Torino:

“Andrea is similar to all the great strikers, English and not. It’s hard to compare him to someone else because he’s special. He’s Belotti and that’s it. He has [an] instinct for goals, personality