Tottenham chase for ex-Chelsea star ‘confirmed’, as report names two reasons why signing is perfect for Conte

Tottenham were recently linked with a shock move for a former Chelsea player and a second report has ‘confirmed’ their interest, with the transfer perfect for Antonio Conte due to two reasons.

Tottenham have lost twice since picking up that impressive 1-0 victory over Manchester City on February 5. The match after that they were beaten 4-1 by Leicester at the King Power. Rodrigo Bentancur gave Tottenham the lead in the 14th minute, but goals from Nampalys Mendy, James Maddison, Kelechi Iheanacho and Harvey Barnes saw Leicester pick up the three points.

And Spurs were then beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie with AC Milan. Brahim Diaz’s seventh-minute goal proved to be the winner as Spurs looked blunt in attack for large periods.

Conte will be hoping his team can get back to winning ways when they host West Ham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon. After that, Spurs will play Chelsea on Sunday February 26.

Conte’s future at Spurs is uncertain as his contract expires in the summer. Nevertheless, chairman Daniel Levy is hopeful of keeping the manager and is aiming to bring in more new signings to please him.

And on Saturday, reports in Spain revealed how Spurs are looking into a surprise move for Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger.

The centre-back left Chelsea as a free agent in summer 2022 after running down his contract there. He went on to join Real by signing a four-year contract.

Big things were expected from Rudiger after he became one of Chelsea’s most important players under former boss Thomas Tuchel. The Germany international has played regularly, appearing in 19 of Real’s 22 La Liga games so far. He has also featured in other competitions such as the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

Antonio Rudiger fails to replicate Chelsea form in Spain

However, Rudiger has not been as convincing as he was in a Chelsea shirt. And Los Blancos officials are now eyeing up Josko Gvardiol as a centre-half replacement.

This is why Spurs have been given hope of capturing Rudiger. And an update on the situation has now arrived from Sport Witness, who cite more reports coming out of Spain.

They claim Spurs’ interest in Rudiger has been ‘confirmed’ in the last 24 hours. And there are two reasons why Conte would love to land the 29-year-old.

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The first is that Rudiger has plenty of Premier League experience from his Chelsea days. This means he would need not any time to get used to the style of English football.

The second reason Rudiger is an attractive signing is the fact he is comfortable operating in a back three. He usually played on the left of a back three during Tuchel’s time managing Chelsea. Due to this, Rudiger would seamlessly fit into Conte’s formation.

Despite Rudiger not being up to standard just yet, Real will not let him go on the cheap this summer. After all, they have only recently taken him to the Bernabeu and will probably want to give him another season to prove his worth.

This means Real will give Spurs a big price in order to sign Rudiger. It would make sense if he remained in Madrid for another season to improve his form. If the 29-year-old fails to get better, then a bid for Gvardiol could emerge and this would finally allow Spurs to snare Rudiger.