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Tottenham may force Conte to pick between his £68m and £42.5m targets

Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Antonio Conte manager of Tottenham Hotspur reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur  and  Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 19, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Antonio Conte may have to choose between Tottenham Hotspur securing January transfers for Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic or Milan Skriniar of Inter Milan, according to Calciomercato.

Conte is keen to see Spurs strengthen their attack with a move to sign Viola striker Vlahovic next month. The Serbian has enjoyed a sensational season so far having already scored 16 goals in just 18 Serie A games. He has averaged one successful strike every 100-minutes.

But Conte also wants to reunite with his 2020/21 Serie A title-winning defender Skriniar in north London. The Italian tactician has marked the Slovakian centre-half, like Vlahovic, as one of his concrete goals for the winter sales. But he will struggle to sign both in January.

STADIO GIUSEPPE MEAZZA, MILANO, ITALY - 2021/12/12: Milan Skriniar of Fc Internazionale  in action during the Serie A match between Fc Internazionale and Cagliari Calcio. Fc Internazionale wins 4-0 over Cagliari Calcio. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images

Tottenham assured Conte he will have funds to spend in the mid-season market when they hired the 52-year-old. The Sun even reported Chairman Daniel Levy was willing to sanction a £150m war chest in a bid to turn the club around following Nuno Espirito Santo’s tenure.

Conte has already taken Spurs up from 10th in the table to seventh after five games at the helm. The north Londoners have also played three times less than rivals Arsenal in fourth.

Tottenham have additionally kept two clean sheets and scored nine times over Conte’s five games in charge. But they needed a mistake from Alisson for their second against Liverpool on Sunday, having wasted a raft of chances after Harry Kane ended his six-match drought.

Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina) celebrates after scoring a goal during the italian soccer Serie A match ACF Fiorentina vs US Sassuolo on December 19, 2021 at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Florence, Italy (Photo by Lisa Guglielmi/LiveMedia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Photo by Lisa Guglielmi/LiveMedia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Tottenham may force Conte to pick between Vlahovic or Skriniar transfer

Tottenham could now force Conte to choose which position needs strengthening the most: striker with Fiorentina’s free-scoring Vlahovic or his former Inter Milan centre-half Skriniar.

Conte led the Nerazzurri to the Scudetto last season with Skriniar helping toward 12 clean sheets over 32 games. He has since helped the San Siro side shut out six teams this term.

Skriniar’s continued form could now see Inter Milan demand more than the €50m (£42.5m) Fabrizio Romano claimed they demanded from Tottenham during the last transfer window.

A fee in that region, alone, will make for a high outlay if Conte also requests Tottenham to sign Vlahovic. Gianluca Di Marzio notes Fiorentina want €80m (£68m) for the 21-year-old.