Tottenham tipped to beat Chelsea to Gvardiol deal due to two reasons

Conte says Tottenham need to continue to work

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Tottenham have been told that they could beat rivals Chelsea to the £77million signing of Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig. The Blues came close to completing a deal for the defender in the summer as co-owner and acting sporting director Todd Boehly took spending at Stamford Bridge to over £200m, but other defensive signings came into the club instead.

Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella but it was rumoured that the Blues were in talks over a £77m fee for Gvardiol, although he would have remained at the Bundesliga club until next summer. After the window closed the Croatian signed a new five-year contract at Leipzig, though former Tottenham defender Alan Hutton believes that Spurs can beat Chelsea to his signing in the future.

“I don’t see why Tottenham can’t beat Chelsea to him [Gvardiol],” Hutton told Football Insider. “They’re definitely now in the conversation, fighting with the likes of Chelsea, and that attractiveness will only increase with cup runs and European football.

“I think for the player, he’ll be more than happy to be linked with both clubs. But with [Antonio] Conte potentially signing a new long-term deal, and the progress that they’re making – it’s something, as a player, that I would want to be involved in.”

Hutton cited Spurs’ continued improvement under Conte and the Italian’s rumoured new contract at the club as two reasons why the north London side could pip Chelsea to the Gvardiol transfer, as Conte’s current deal expires at the end of the season. Ahead of his side’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on Wednesday, Conte explained how he is calm over his deal at the club amid links that he could return to Italy.

“My contract in this moment is not important,” Conte said. “The most important thing is to prepare for the game and this period of games. Right now we need to be focused for these three big games ahead. I have to speak to the club and we’ll speak about this situation and find the best solution for everybody.”

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Conte has reportedly asked for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen in talks with chief Fabio Paratici, and Gvardiol would be another stellar acquisition. Despite his new contract at Leipzig, the 20-year-old failed to rule out a possible move away from the club in the January transfer window.

“I am happy at Leipzig, I still have a lot to learn and need to work on myself,” Gvardiol said last month. “I have people who deal with it, I didn’t think about a transfer. We’ll see what happens in the winter.”

The Croatian international is adept at both centre-back and left-back, and could fit well on the left side of Conte’s back three if he is not likely to keep Clement Lenglet at the club beyond his loan deal from Barcelona.

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