Paratici set to launch £34m bid for "special" Spurs target, it could be bye-bye Tanguy - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur are set to lanch a bid in an attempt to bring Joao Palhinha to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

That’s according to a report by Portuguese publication Jornal de Noticias (via Sport Witness), who claim that, with Antonio Conte viewing the Sporting Lisbon defensive midfielder as an ideal addition to his current options in the middle of the park, Fabio Paratici is set to submit an offer for the 26-year-old within the next month.

The report also goes on to state that, despite the Liga Portugal side having hoped to receive a figure close to €60m (£50.5m) for the Portugal international in the January transfer window, they would now be willing to accept an offer in the region of €40m (£34m) in order to part with Palhinha this summer.

With it being reported that the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks could all be on their way out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of the current campaign, coupled with how impressive Palhinha has been in Portugal this season, it is easy to see why Conte would be interested in a deal for the 26-year-old this summer.

Indeed, over his 25 Liga Portugal outings this term, the £23.4m-rated midfielder has been in sensational form for Sporting, making an average of three tackles – the fourth-most in the league – one interception, 0.9 clearances and winning 7.2 duels – at a success rate of 61% – per game.

The £24k-per-week sensation has also impressed going forwards, bagging three goals and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot, making 0.4 key passes and completing 0.6 dribbles per fixture.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old who Ruben Amorim dubbed a “special player” average a SofaScore match