Paper Talk: Tottenham ready to smash club record to land Conte’s top defensive target

Ansgar Knauff marking Josko Gvardiol

Tottenham are ready to break their club record to sign top Antonio Conte defensive target Josko Gvardiol, while Thursday’s Paper Talk claims that Chelsea are back in the race to land a Manchester United and Real Madrid midfield target.

LEIPZIG STAR EMERGES AS TOP CONTE TARGET

RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol has reportedly become Antonio Conte’s top summer target for Tottenham.

The Spurs chief is well known to be chasing a new centre-back, although both Eric Dier and Cristian Romero are nailed down as starters next season.

It’s thought that Conte wants Gvardiol to replace Ben Davies on the left side of his back three.

The Welshman has performed fairly well in the position he plays for Wales. However, he has also been prone to mistakes, and Conte wants more quality and consistency of performance in that position.

Tottenham have been linked with a host of centre-backs, but The Athletic now claims that 20-year-old Gvardiol is the man for Conte.

Multiple clubs are believed to be looking at the player, who features on the left side of Leipzig’s back three. However, the Croatian is also capable of playing at left-back – similar to Davies.

The big issue is that Leipzig rate the player very highly and The Atheltic states that it will take a club-record bid from Spurs to seal his signature.

Conte set on first summer signing for Tottenham

Conte set on first summer signing for Tottenham

Antonio Conte is set on his first summer signing for Tottenham Hotspur as they look to sign Dejan Kulusevski on a permanent deal following loan

Their current record is the £53.8million they paid for Tanguy Ndombele in 2019.

But with several stars set to be offloaded this summer, including Ndombele, Tottenham are ready to use that cash to add more quality to Conte’s squad.

CHELSEA BACK IN TCHOUAMENI RACE

Chelsea are reportedly back in the race to sign Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, according to reports.

The Blues had been ruled out of the running due to their ongoing takeover due to the sanctions in place on current owner Roma Abramovich.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Marco Verratti

Chelsea are known to have been tracking the talented 22-year-old for months. However, they also face rivals for his signature in the shape of Manchester United, Real Madrid and PSG.

Tchouameni joined Monaco in 2020. Since then he’s been flagged up as one of the most promising stars in French football.

He has made 43 appearances across all competitions this season, scoring three goals and adding two assists.

Any new recruits will NOW be dependent on Chelsea’s new owners and how much they are willing to spend.

Tchouameni is expected to cost around £50million, so it would be a massive investment.

MAN UTD URGED TO DITCH DUO

Manchester United’s new manager has been instructed to replace summer signing Jadon Sancho, while the verdict is also still out on Raphael Varane.

Sancho only arrived at Old Trafford last summer after a protracted chase for the England winger.

Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Man Utd celeb following goal v Leeds in Premier League

United paid more than £70million to bring the attacker to the Premier League after he excelled at Borussia Dortmund.

However, it’s not exactly been a stellar campaign from Sancho, who has scored five goals and added three assists.

And pundit Trevor Sinclair has not been impressed and thinks United can do better.

He told talkSPORT: “Sancho’s come in as a winger – can’t beat a player, not quick enough.”

Sinclair is also not convinced by Varane, adding: “You’ve got Varane, for me the jury’s still out on him.”

United are expected to be active in the summer market, with a deal for Erik ten Hag to come in as their new permanent boss close to being finalised.