When former Inter Milan, Juventus and Italian national team boss Antonio Conte joined Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of November, inevitable links to some of his former players followed.
One of the strongest rumours concerned Dutch international centre back Stefan de Vrij. The stories emerged almost immediately after Conte took the hot seat at Spurs but the player said that he knew nothing about them at the time.
De Vrij was probably being completely honest but his latest comments, praising his former boss, will only fuel gossip relating to a Spurs approach in the January transfer window.
Always a Winner
Talking to DAZN in early December, Stefan de Vrij spoke very highly of his former coach and the man who led Inter to the Serie A title in 2021. The Dutchman stated that Conte always wins and that he had given the team the belief that they needed in order to end Juventus’ long period of domestic dominance.
While he may have been asked some leading questions, the timing of those comments has undoubtedly seen the Tottenham Hotspur links resurface. While De Vrij hasn’t said ‘come and get me’, the interview suggests that he would be more than happy to work with Antonio Conte in the future.
Spurs in the Hunt
Tottenham have recently been eliminated from the newly formed Europa Conference League but they remain in contention elsewhere. The club remains in both domestic cup competitions and Spurs are in the hunt for a top four finish in the Premier League. That would ensure qualification to the Champions League for 2022/23 and that has to be Conte’s main target.
Tottenham Hotspur aren’t getting much support from independent judges and the best betting sites around the world suggest that they will finish outside of those Champions League slots. According to the bookmakers associated with sbo.net, Spurs are sixth favourites for a top four finish, behind Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.
There are challenges ahead but the club remains unbeaten in the league under Conte as they go into the Christmas fixtures. A further positive run will see those odds start to shorten and sbo.net’s bookmakers will have to publish a whole new set of figures.
While on the website, readers can keep up to date with Tottenham and with the Premier League in general via news and opinion articles. There’s also an option to get involved with those markets as all sportsbooks on the site are willing to take on new customers.
In most cases, there are generous welcome packages on the table and many outlets will publish ongoing promotions moving forward. A range of deposit and withdrawal options, together with fast and efficient customer service are among the other benefits to be found.
Spurs may already be attracting some interest in those top four markets but the arrival of Stefan de Vrij in January could certainly boost their chances.
The Missing Piece of the Jigsaw?
Spurs were struggling in the centre of defence before Antonio Conte took over. Toby Alderweireld had left the club and his replacement, Serie A loanee Cristian Romero, had to battle early season loss of form and injury.
However, as he always seems to do, Conte has got the best out of the players. Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez have been transformed in the centre back positions and, while Romero remains injured, Tottenham fans are positive about his return.
Stefan de Vrij may not, therefore, be the missing piece of any jigsaw but it would be tough to turn down a player of his quality if he became available. Spurs may be improving at the back but there isn’t much in the way of competition for places and every squad needs that if they are going to challenge for top honours.
Inter would want to hold on to an important player but could they be tempted if Spurs were to offer Dele Alli in exchange? It’s said that the England international will be leaving the club in January and he’s the type of creative midfielder who could cover for his former Tottenham teammate Christian Eriksen.
There’s lots that could happen but it’s unlikely that these rumours will disappear anytime soon.