Paratici now in talks for "unreal" £30m Spurs target, he's a dream Bastoni alternative - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Kalidou Koulibaly to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by Spanish publication Sport, who claim that, with one year remaining on his current deal at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, the Napoli centre-back has informed Aurelio De Laurentiis of his desire to secure a move away from the Serie A side this summer.

The report goes on to state that, as a result of this development, Tottenham have made contact with LIAN Sports Group, the defender’s agency firm, in order to begin talks concerning a transfer, with Juventus and Chelsea also said to be keen on beginning negotiations with the Senegal international.

Finally, Sport claim that, while Barcelona are also one of the clubs in the running for Koulibaly’s signature, due to the LaLiga side’s perilous financial situation at present, the Catalans look unlikely to be able to afford the centre-back’s €35m (£30m) asking price and his expected salary demands.

While it has been reported that Antonio Conte’s priority transfer target in the coming months is the signing of a left-footed centre-back, with doubts starting to emerge as to whether Alessandro Bastoni would be willing to leave Inter Milan for north London this summer, the argument that Koulibaly would be a dream alternative for the 23-year-old is an easy one to make.

Indeed, despite Koulibaly being 71% right-footed, the £40.5m-rated talent typically operates on the left of Napoli’s centre-back pairing, with his Serie A heatmap from the 2021/22 campaign demonstrating that the defender spends the vast majority of his time on the left-hand side of the pitch.

Furthermore, while Bastoni is undoubtedly a talent whose