Tottenham look set to embrace Antonio Conte's philosophy in the upcoming transfer window, with several of the Italian's Serie A title-winning squad linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Daniel Levy could gift the Spurs boss a war chest worth at least £310.5million, following a £150m cash injection into the north London outfit from owners ENIC.
football.london understand that the majority of the aforementioned sum will be put towards backing Conte in the transfer market this summer in order to help him build a team that can challenge at the top of the Premier League and in the Champions League next season. And, Spurs have already got the ball rolling with Alessandro Bastoni and Ivan Perisic in their sights.
Perisic has accepted an offer to join Tottenham this summer once his contract with Inter Milan expires, according to The Guardian. The 33-year-old will arrive at Hotspur Way this week to complete a medical and finalise what is believed to be a £98,000 a week, two-year switch to Tottenham after telling Inter Milan that he does not plan to renew his contract with them.
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It's believed that Conte was a key component in engineering the transfer, with the Italian eager to reunite with Perisic. The Croatia international was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea during the Spurs boss' reign in west London.
Meanwhile, football.london understand that, amid Spurs' interest in Bastoni, Inter won't accept anything less than £51million for the defender. So, with that being said, football.london takes a closer look at what numbers could be free if either of the Inter starlets pen a deal in north London.
Ivan Perisic
Since 2019, the Croatian has housed the number 14, with spells at Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Though prior to his brief spell in the Bundesliga, Perisic wore 44.
But, before his 'breakthrough' onto the world stage, he worse the number nine at VfL Wolfsburg and, again, 14 and 44 at Borussia Dortmund. Perisic has made the number four his own on the international stage, having first worn it at club level in 2008 for KSV Roeselare.
So, with four, nine, 14 and 44 likely to be his preference, Perisic will have a free-run at the number nine. If the wide-man would like four, 14 or 44 then he'll have to have a chat with Cristian Romero, Joe Rodon and Dane Scarlett, respectively - else Spurs could have a Cristiano Ronaldo-Edinson Cavani saga on their hands.
Alessandro Bastoni
Bastoni has religiously worn the number 95 and number six throughout both his youth and senior career, on the international and club stage. The youngster has worn the number 23 for Italy lately amid his breakthrough.
From Spurs' first-team squad, the 95 is available. The number six is taken by Davinson Sanchez and the number 23 is occupied by Steven Bergwijn, who has been linked with a move away from Tottenham this summer.
