The Serie A stars who could follow Antonio Conte to Tottenham in January

Eventually managing to avoid a Europa Conference League collapse on Thursday night, Tottenham just about opened Antonio Conte’s tenure in charge with a victory in north London.

Holding onto a much-welcomed 3-2 win against Dutch outfit Vitesse in front of their home support, Spurs fans were undoubtedly given a huge boost last week when news broke that Nuno Espírito Santo had been given his marching orders.

Watching his four-month spell come to an end following Tottenham’s woeful 3-0 defeat against Manchester United last weekend, the Lilywhites now have a serial winner sitting in their dugout.

Out of work since guiding Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in a decade last season, it is believed that Daniel Levy will be looking to back his new boss when the window reopens.

Desperate to try and secure a top-four return, we have taken a look at a few Serie A stars who have been linked with a move to Tottenham in January.

Franck Kessie – AC Milan

With it being heavily reported over the past fortnight that Tanguy Ndombele could be on Barcelona’s January wishlist, it appears that Tottenham have a new central midfielder at the top of their own agenda.

Watching the likes of former England international Harry Winks become a forgotten man in north London, Italian outfit CalcioMercato are reporting that Spurs are already close to completing their first piece of business.

Playing a vital role as AC Milan have come flying out the traps since opening the 2021/22 campaign, Franck Kessie’s contract standoff at the San Siro appears to have reached an impasse.

With the midfielder’s current deal coming to an end next summer, the 24-year-old has really become a man in demand as he has been heavily linked with fellow Premier League heavyweight Manchester United.

However, in what would be a real scalp for Tottenham, The Sun are also reporting that Conte’s new side are ‘close’ to securing a deal worth £8.5million per year following talks with the player’s agent George Atangana.

Dusan Vlahovic – Fiorentina

With attacking talisman Harry Kane only recording a single Premier League goal since opening the new season, it has been clear to Tottenham fans for some time that they need a solid deputy to the England skipper.

Watching last season’s loanee Carlos Vinícius fail to make any real impact, The Metro reported earlier in the week that Levy and Conte have their sights set on going back in for one of their former targets.

Heavily linked with Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic over the summer, the 21-year-old has become a real superstar in Italy after recording 29 goals in his last 48 league appearances for the Viola.

In fact, along with claiming that the Serbian ace is keen on securing a move to the Premier League in January, Italian outlet La Nazione also reported on Wednesday that Tottenham are currently leading the chase.

With Conte gaining plenty of plaudits for his work with Romelu Lukaku during their time together at Inter Milan, Vlahovic could be eager to work under the one-time Chelsea boss.

Stefan de Vrij – Inter Milan

While Tottenham might have managed to get Conte’s tenure underway with a 3-2 win against Vitesse on Thursday night, there is no doubt that the 52-year-old would have got a taste of Spurs’ issues at the back.

With big-money summer arrival Cristian Romero struggling to find his feet since making a Premier League switch, the north London outfit have remarkably recorded just a single clean sheet from their last 13 matchups across all formats.

Expected that Conte will be looking to bolster his defensive options come January, Football Insider reported earlier in the week that the ex-Juve boss has told Director of Football Fabio Paratici that he wants to complete a deal for Stefan de Vrij.

Forming a close partnership as the pair lifted the Serie A title last season, the Dutch international has a contract at the San Siro that currently runs until 2023.

However, with the Italian giants dealing with some public financial issues, it is believed that a deal in the region of £40million could tempt Inter into parting ways with their defensive star.