Conte ‘likes Dumfries a lot’ but faces Levy battle to beat Man Utd, Chelsea to €60m signing
According to reports in Italy, Spurs head coach Antonio Conte ‘really likes’ Denzel Dumfries, but Inter Milan’s asking price may put off Daniel Levy.
Spurs appear to be in the market for a new right-wing-back and Dumfries would certainly be an ideal signing.
The Netherlands international proved at this winter’s World Cup that he would suit Premier League football. He has been linked with the north Londoners, Chelsea and Manchester United for quite some time.
Dumfries is a marauding wing-back with pace and power, as well as great technical ability and a stellar final ball and would slot perfectly into Antonio Conte’s system.
He is also well-suited to Chelsea – who also operate with a back five and need more depth on the right flank due to the worrying drop off in quality whenever Reece James is absent.
Spurs have been linked with Sporting wing-back Pedro Porro, but the Premier League side have ‘cooled’ their interest due to his £40million valuation.
Porro joined Sporting from Manchester City and would be able to leave if his £40m release clause is triggered; however, in classic Daniel Levy fashion, he is reluctant to cough up the cash.
Conte is in dire need of reinforcements if his side are to finish inside the top four this term.
Spurs were busy last summer, though marquee signing Richarlison has struggled in front of goal since leaving Everton for £50m and is currently out with an injury.
Ivan Perisic was never going to be a bad signing – especially as he was a free transfer. The same could potentially be said for back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Elsewhere, Djed Spence was signed but can’t get a sniff this season, with Conte clearly not keen on the young right-wing-back, admitting he was a “club signing”.
Yves Bissouma has failed to hit the ground running at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium despite joining for a respectable fee after a terrific spell with Brighton.
With Levy reluctant to pay £40m for Porro, it is highly unlikely he will cough up even more for Dumfries, even if he is the superior player.
Conte – who is out of contract at the end of the season – ‘likes Dumfries a lot’; as does sporting director Fabio Paratici.
Paratici and Conte have delved into the Serie A market a few times already, signing the aforementioned Perisic from Inter in June after bringing in Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus last January.
The report states that Spurs ‘have a huge hole on the right’ with Conte choosing between Matt Doherty, Emerson Royal, and the completely unfavoured Spence.
Spurs ‘will at least try’ if Inter hint that Dumfries can leave this month after ‘moving’ for Porro.
Chelsea are unsurprisingly mentioned by the Italian newspaper, who say the Blues are not afraid to spend under Todd Boehly, with €130m and €38m deals for Enzo Fernandez and Benoit Badiashile, respectively, close to being completed.
Graham Potter sees Dumfries as the ‘perfect alternative’ to James, who marked his return to action last month by picking up yet another injury.
Manchester United are also mentioned, with Dumfries admittedly a ‘significant improvement’ on Aaron Wan-Bissaka – who has started both games post-World Cup.
Diogo Dalot has established himself as United’s first-choice right-back under Erik ten Hag but is definitely someone who can be replaced.
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