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Tottenham now reportedly ready to sign ‘one of the best defenders in the world’ to replace Sanchez

Giuseppe Labellarte

Tue 15 November 2022 21:49, UK

With the Premier League season grinding to a halt due to the World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur can now take stock of their season so far.

Truth be told, Spurs will probably feel they could’ve done better. This is even though they’re in the Premier League top four and in the Champions League last 16.

At the start of the season, Tottenham really looked like they could’ve been challenging for the title. That’s how good their recruitment seemed.

But despite heavy investment in the squad, Spurs still don’t look anywhere near the finished product.

The defence still looks shaky and, according to reports, Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici are looking for reinforcements.

‘On the attack’

One report from Italy suggests Spurs could look to move for Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij.

– via – say that the Dutchman is of particular interest because his contract is running out at the end of the season.

Apparently, Inter want to negotiate down from the player’s current package of €4m a year.

However, Tottenham could offer more than that with a deal worth around the same as what they gave Ivan Perisic.

Should an agreement be found with the defender and his agent, Paratici ‘would immediately go on the attack’ for the player with a bid of ‘no more than €4-5m’.

He could also offer Davinson Sanchez on a free loan with an option to buy for €15-18m, to sweeten the deal and offer Inter an immediate replacement.

The Colombian ‘does not drive Conte crazy’ but has long been in Inter’s sights and Tottenham may try and use that to their advantage, added the report.

“I have found him to be clearly superior to De Ligt”

De Vrij is a defender of the highest calibre, boasting over 400 appearances for Inter, Lazio and Feyenoord.

He also won the Serie A title last season with Conte and has won over half a century of caps for the Netherlands.

Last April, Dutch pundit and former player Willem van Hanegem sung De Vrij’s praises in .

“De Vrij is simply the best defender in Serie A,” he wrote (translated on ).

“I have found him to be clearly superior to De Ligt for a long time.

“De Vrij is going to take the Serie A title, but here people just want to talk about Virgil van Dijk.

“De Vrij really has become one of the best defenders in the world. It just seems that many people don’t want to see it.”