Tottenham Hotspur’s summer transfer business is showing no signs of slowing as Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici continue to splash the cash for Antonio Conte.
The north Londoners have already signed Fraser Forster, Ivan Perisic and Yves Bissouma in recent weeks, but it looks like the Champions League side are set to make further acquisitions.
Tottenham are closing in on a £50m deal plus add-ons to sign Everton forward Richarlison who will bolster an already formidable forward line that contains Dejan Kulusevski, Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane.
The Brazilian’s arrival will add goals, quality and depth to a strike force which is up there with the best in the Premier League.
With the 14-goal Brazil international itching ever closer to becoming a Spurs player, Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet is expected to quickly follow Richarlison through the Hotspur Way Training Ground, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Conte has been keen to sign a left-footed centre-back and it looks like the France international could be the man to grant the Italian’s wish.
With their fourth and fifth signings seemingly in the pipeline, TBR takes a look at how Tottenham could line-up under Conte with Richarlison and Lenglet.
How Tottenham could line-up under Conte with Richarlison and Lenglet
With the former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan manager likely to retain his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation, Lenglet would likely play on the left of a three-man defence alongside Eric Dier and Christian Romero.
The 27-year-old has fallen out of favour under Barcelona legend Xavi at the Nou Camp, but in his four years in Catalonia, Lenglet has made 158 appearances for Blaugrana, following his £32m move from Sevilla.
The former La Liga winner would bolster Conte’s defensive options and the 15-time France international would likely replace Welshman Ben Davies.
Croatia legend Ivan Perisic who has joined Tottenham on a free transfer from Inter could be used in the left wing-back role.
The 33-year-old played that role during his time at the San Siro under Conte, and the pair went on to win the Scudetto together.
On the other side, its looking increasingly that Conte will land Middlesbrough and England Under-21 international Djed Spence who impressed during his season-long loan with promotion-winning Nottingham Forest.
Sky Sports are reporting that Spurs are in advanced talks with Boro regarding a £15million deal plus add-ons for the talented attack-minded right-back.
Spence’s arrival will likely shuffle Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal, who has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid, down the pecking order.
While it may be a tad harsh on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who alongside Tottenham new boy Yves Bissouma has won the most tackles in the Premier League since the start of the 2020-21 season – the Denmark international may find himself starting the season on the bench.
Conte could well go with the £25m Malian who was signed from Brighton and former Juventus man Rodrigo Bentancur as his two-man midfield pivot.
The Uruguayan impressed after making the move from Serie A on the last day of the January transfer window, and with a full pre-season under his belt with Conte – the 25-year-old could take the Premier League by storm next season.
With five goals and eight assists from 14 Premier League starts, Kulusevski’s place in the Spurs starting line-up shouldn’t even be in question.
But with the big-money imminent arrival of Richarlison, the 22-year-old Swede may find himself competing for a place with the former Watford man who scored 53 goals from 152 games for the Toffees.
The pair will be jostling for a place in Conte’s starting line-up alongside star duo Son and Kane who were directly involved in 58 goals for Spurs in the Premier League last season.
Conte won the league with Juventus, Chelsea and Inter, and with the squad he’s assembling at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Spurs fans will be dreaming that the influential 52-year-old can replicate his title-winning success in north London.