Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Federico Chiesa to the Premier League at the end of the current campaign.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet CalcioMercatoWeb, who claim that Antonio Conte ‘dreams’ of signing the Juventus right-winger for Spurs, and could put the 25-year-old’s name forward to Fabio Paratici as a target for next summer on the premise that the 53-year-old manager himself signs a contract extension at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, the report goes on to suggest that the Serie A side are highly unlikely to be willing to part with the Italy international any time soon, with Massimiliano Allegri’s outfit believed to have informed both Conte and Paratici that it will take a large cash offer plus either Richarlison or Son Heung-min in order for them to agree to Chiesa’s departure.
Richarlison for Chiesa?
While it is true that a series of injuries have severely limited Chiesa’s first-team game time over the past two years, considering just how impressive the winger is when fully fit and firing, coupled with Richarlison’s somewhat slow start to life at Spurs, Conte and Paratici should, at the very least, consider a swap deal between the two forwards next summer.
Indeed, over Chiesa’s 33 Serie A appearances in his last injury-free campaign back in 2020/21, the £52m-rated talent was in devastating form going forwards, scoring nine goals, registering nine assists and creating a whopping 18 big chances, in addition to taking an average of 2.1 shots, making 1.5 key passes and completing 1.6 dribbles – at a success rate of 56% – per game.
These returns saw the £153k-per-week sensation average a remarkable Sofascore match rating of 7.19, not only ranking him as Juve’s third-best performer in the league but also as the joint 21st-best player in the top flight of Italian football that season.
Furthermore, the 25-year-old – who Jack Gallagher claimed has “developed that ‘always hits the target when he shoots’ thing that Harry Kane has” – also impressed in cup competitions in 2020/21; scoring four goals and providing one assist over eight Champions League fixtures and bagging two goals and one assist over five domestic cup outings – taking his total to 15 goals and 11 assists over 46 appearances that year.
In comparison, Richarlison’s best campaign of his career to date came at Everton back in 2019/20, when the £60m signing scored 13 goals and registered three assists over 36 Premier League fixtures, as well as bagging a further two goals and one assist over five outings in domestic cup competitions – taking his total to 15 goals and four assists over 41 appearances in all competitions.
Further still, while it is true that the Brazil international is capable of featuring anywhere across a front three, so too is Chiesa, however, the Juventus star can also operate as a support striker, an attacking midfielder and as a left or right wing-back – something that would appear to make the winger a much better fit for Conte’s tactical set-up compared to Richarlison.
As such, while it would undoubtedly be a bold call to swap the 25-year-old summer signing for Chiesa just 12 months after spending an astronomical amount of money to prise him away from the Toffees, considering their respective returns and positional versatility, it is a decision worth pondering for Conte and Paratici, as the “unreal” Italian would very much look to be a dream Conte signing.
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