Fabio Paratici masterclass catapults Tottenham clear in striker race as rivals blown away

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly jumped ahead of their rivals in the chase for one of the hottest attacking properties in European football, but TEAMtalk can explain why alarm bells should be ringing if Fabio Paratici pulls off a deal for the Serie A star.

It’s no secret that Thomas Frank is looking to bolster his frontline in the January transfer window, with a new left-sided attacker currently the priority – although the addition of another No.9 is also high on the list of needs.

Tottenham have been forced to rely on the notoriously injury-prone Richarlison for well over a month now due to the absence of Dominic Solanke and summer loan signing Randal Kolo Muani.

And, while the latter could be back on the bench against Aston Villa on Sunday after finally recovering from a dead leg, no timeframe is being put on Solanke as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery.

Frank did give a positive update on the England forward’s progress at his presser for the Villa clash, but that is not stopping Spurs looking at bolstering the position, with Juventus and Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic currently their top target.

The 25-year-old’s agent is known to have instructed his agent to explore moves to Tottenham and London rivals Chelsea, while Manchester United are also a dark horse in the race for his signature if they decide to let Joshua Zirkzee move on in January.

However,  TEAMtalk understands that Paratici’s return to the north London club as sporting director, along with his ties to Juventus, has given Spurs a major advantage when it comes to winning the race for Vlahovic.

Other sources, including the likes of Football Insider, have doubled down on Tottenham’s interest and there is certainly no smoke without fire when it comes to the club potentially upgrading that No.9 position.

The reason for Vlahovic, who has scored 62 goals and laid on 15 assists for Juve in 153 games for the club, being available mid-season comes down to his contract situation.

The Serbia international’s current deal expires next summer, leading to his agents touting the player around ahead of him being able to agree a pre-contract with clubs outside of Italy in the new year.

However, Juventus are said to be interested in striking a deal for the player in January to ensure they at least recoup some sort of a fee, with talk of an offer as small as €15m (£13m) potentially doing the trick.

While a player of Vlahovic’s standing might not have been in Tottenham’s thinking in the past due to his wage demands, the club have had a major shift since Daniel Levy’s exit. Indeed, majority shareholders Enic recently ploughed £100m of capital into the club, with a promise of more to come in order to attract some of Europe’s top talent.

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What Vlahovic would bring to Tottenham – although there are concerns

Pace, power and tremendous finishing ability are all to the fore when it comes to Vlahovic, while his strong hold-up play would also be a massive asset for Tottenham.

The Serbian hotshot has netted 114 career goals in 288 games, including eight in 18 Champions League outings.

And, while there is no doubting that he would be a tremendous acquisition for the club, there are also some familiar alarm bells sounding when it comes to Tottenham and signing players with injury issues.

In fairness, they have been incredibly unfortunate with Solanke, who hardly missed a game for Bournemouth but has had multiple issues since arriving in north London.

However, there is no denying that injuries have been a huge issue at Spurs for a number of years now, and bringing in Vlahovic might end up being another massive gamble.

The Juve hitman has missed a total of 36 games over the last four seasons, suffering a variety of different issues in that time.

A look back to his more recent issues shows up two muscle injuries last season, along with a stress reaction of the bone that kept him out for a fortnight.

Indeed, muscular problems are apparent a fair amount when checking back through his records, although there’s been nothing you would term as being serious.

That being said, it has to be a concern for Tottenham if they do decide to make a concrete move for Vlahovic and pay him big wages, only for him to potentially watch games from the sidelines as Frank is forced to turn to other options instead.

Latest Tottenham news 

Talk that Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham are all exploring a deal to bring Ivan Toney back to the Premier League in January has drawn an emphatic response from two sources, with the £427,000-a-week star having made up his mind for two major reasons.

Elsewhere, It looks like Spurs have joined the race for Nico Raskin at just the right time after a second source confirmed the Rangers midfielder’s intentions, and with our sources confirming the price it will take to prise the Belgian out of Ibrox.

And finally, Fabio Paratici’s return to Tottenham does not change their stance on targeting Antoine Semenyo, sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk.

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