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Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is reportedly prepared to splash out ‘huge’ wages in an effort to convince Antonio Rudiger to swap west London for north London.

Football Insider claims that Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici is working hard on a deal to land the imposing Germany centre-back on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Signing the 28-year-old would be a massive coup for Tottenham, especially with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG also chasing his signature.

However, to get their man they will have to break the bank in terms of wages. Players that move on free transfers do tend to demand greater salaries and signing-on bonuses, and that is what Tottenham will have to do to agree to snap up Rudiger.

Levy and Paratici also have to deal with the fact that foreign clubs can agree a pre-contract with the defender from January.

Real have long been touted as Rudiger’s preferred destination. However, Football Insider claims that Tottenham are hoping the combination of Paratici and Antonio Conte can convince the player to remain in England.

Rudiger has kept 18 clean sheets in his 35 Premier League outings for Chelsea since the beginning of last season. Tottenham, meanwhile, have only managed 18 shutouts in their last 52 league games.

Conte is known to want at least one new centre-back in January, especially with Christian Romero currently sidelined. And Rudiger would be the sort of hardened, experienced player that he is looking for.

Now the onus is on Levy to try and persuade the former Roma man that Spurs are the right choice.

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Conte makes contact with star he knows well

Meanwhile, Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has made contact with Inter midfielder Arturo Vidal about a move to the Premier League, a report has claimed.

Spurs’ midfield ranks have undergone a period of transition in recent years, amid the changes in manager. While Dele Alli and Harry Winks have somewhat regressed from where they were, others have stolen the limelight.

Indeed, 2020 signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has made himself a mainstay of the team.

Regular midfield partner Oliver Skipp, meanwhile, is only in his first proper Premier League season. Nevertheless, Conte is on the lookout for changes and they could come in his engine room.

Winks has had strong links with a move away to Newcastle. Meanwhile, TEAMtalk understands that the Magpies are chasing a deal for Alli.

As for who could come in, La Tercera claims that Inter’s veteran star Vidal is a target for Conte.

The manager signed the midfielder for the Serie A side last September and he played a key role for part of the season – until a spell on the sidelines – in helping Inter win Serie A.

Under Simone Inzaghi this season, though, Vidal has had an even more disrupted campaign.  Injuries and a lack of starts have hampered his progress.

As such, the report claims that Conte has touched base with the player to see if he wants to move to the Premier League.

READ MORE: Conte strikes as Tottenham offer £8.4m-a-year salary to midfield beast

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