Report: Tottenham have already started working to sign 'one of the best defenders in the world' before January

By Sam Preston

Tottenham Hotspur have made contact to sign central defender Stefan de Vrij from Inter when the January window opens.

Spurs were linked with the Dutchman during the summer transfer market, as Antonio Conte went in search of central defensive reinforcements.

Conte ended up loaning in Clement Lenglet from Barcelona but the temporary nature of that deal means that it still an issue which needs sorting.

L’Interista report that Tottenham and Newcastle have already made their move to try and sign de Vrij ahead of the winter window.

Tottenham make contact over signing de Vrij

The report says that the defender’s contract is due to expire in the summer of 2023, meaning that his future is now coming to the crunch.

They say that he could well leave for nothing at the end of the season, but the January window could see him move to the Premier League.

The report says Conte is a big admirer of de Vrij, and of course the Italian reportedly tried to raid his old club for Alessandro Bastoni in the summer, but to no avail.

Former Dutch international turned pundit Van Hanegem thinks that De Vrij ought to be the first-choice partner for Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk at international level.

“De Vrij is simply the best defender in Serie A. I have found him to be clearly superior to De Ligt for a long time,” he said.

“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.”