Spurs confident they can seal agreement for Conte’s number one target; have money to close deal

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly confident that they can seal an agreement for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku during the summer transfer window after gaining an ‘advantageous position’ in the race for his signature, according to an Italian outlet.

The 29-year-old made a return to the Premier League when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan for a club-record fee of £97.5m last summer, 10 years after he first joined the Blues.

Despite still having four years remaining on his current contract with Thomas Tuchel’s side, the Belgian has had an underwhelming season in west London, having only scored eight goals in 26 top-flight appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

Such form has now seen him linked with an exit after just one full campaign back at Chelsea, and following a fresh update, it seems as though Antonio Conte is keeping a very close eye on his former San Siro centre-forward.

In a article published by Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), it is claimed that, even though a return to Serie A seems the most likely outcome, the Spurs manager is now ‘between Lukaku and Inter’ and is trying to ‘convince’ the 102-cap Belgium international to reunite with him in north London.

The report claimed that the Antwerp native has been the 52-year-old’s ‘number one target’ for some time, with Conte said to consider the attacker a ‘pivotal player’ when it comes to building a squad which could be able to challenge for the title.

It’s reported that Lukaku would find it ‘difficult’ to turn down his old manager, and unlike the San Siro outfit, Spurs ‘have the money to close the deal’, putting them in an ‘advantageous position’ over their competitors.

Conte clearly still has a good relationship with Inter having just made Ivan