The £30m Euro 2024 star defender who could transform Spurs' defence next season

They’re calling it ‘aura’; the latest intangible metric by which footballing admiration is expressed and doled out; comparable to the forgetfulness, or lack thereof, of the streets; an umbrella utterance under which the various ideals of charisma, ability, and aesthetic all huddle - cigarettes in mouths, dimes nonchalantly flipped and caught repeatedly by hands leather-clad in fingerless gloves.

In the case of Riccardo Calafiori, the ‘aura’ with which he has been augustly bestowed by social media pundits refers specifically to a kind of ersatz nostalgia, a belief that had he been born a couple of decades prior, he could have taken his tumbling ash brown locks, his shoestring alice band, his aquiline nose and exquisitely hollowed cheeks, and slotted right in alongside your Nestas, your Maldinis, your Cannavaros at the heart of a bygone era. He is a white marble preconception incarnate; a living, breathing, thriving epitome of the fondly missed calcio of yore.

He is also a rather good footballer, and it is for this reason - more than his hair and his enviable bone structure, presumably - that Tottenham Hotspur have taken a notable interest in the 22-year-old. According to Caught Offside, Spurs are one of several clubs monitoring Calafiori - who is currently starring for Italy at Euro 2024 - and could be tempted into igniting a summer pursuit of the centre-back.

Alongside Tottenham, the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Napoli are also understood to be circling with intent, although should the defender leave current employers Bologna in the near future, it is said that Juventus would be his preferred destination. Nevertheless, both Spurs and Newcastle have reportedly opened talks, while several other clubs intend to scout Calafiori in Germany this summer.

Complication arises from the fact that Bologna will owe as much as 40% of any future transfer fee to the player’s former club, FC Basel, meaning that the Serie A outfit could hold out for as much as £29.6 million before they acquiesce to a sale, but even at that lofty valuation, Calafiori is worthy of attention.

Whether on the back foot or in possession, the Italian has proven himself to be a precocious talent, and one who thoroughly embodies the prototype of the modern centre-half. Over the course of last season - a campaign in which he helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League for the first time in six decades - Calafiori registered five assists, more than any other defender in Serie A, and a pass completion rate of 89.8%, the third-highest average from a defender in the division.

Elsewhere, he also recorded the third-highest number of interceptions per game, the sixth-highest average match rating, and the eleventh-highest tally of tackles per 90 minutes. In other words, all across the board, the former AS Roma starlet was exemplary.

It is in this context that Tottenham’s affections have been piqued, and with good reason. Calafiori is destined to be in demand this summer, but if the early evidence of his career is to be trusted, then this is one race that Spurs must look to win.