Tottenham are ‘really serious’ about signing Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger, according to journalist Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Spurs after a centre-back?

Tottenham have five senior centre-backs on the books at this moment in time, with Conte opting to use left-back Ben Davies as one of three centre-backs in his first two games in charge.

Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga are yet to feature under Conte, with the new boss reportedly making an A-list centre-back a top priority.

Inter Milan’s Stefan de Vrij is one name that has been linked with Spurs, and it seems as if Rudiger could be another who the club go after in the winter window.

The Latest: Jones’ claim

Jones was talking to Give Me Sport regarding Rudiger in a story shared on Monday evening.

He simply said:

"They're really serious about Rudiger."

The Verdict: Similar to Conte?

Tottenham will need to do a lot of persuading in order to bring the Germany international across London, in what could be a situation similar to Conte.

The Italian rejected a move to Spurs over the summer but has since had second thoughts and replaced Nuno Espirito Santo earlier this month.

Rudiger has also recently snubbed a move to Tottenham, rejecting both Spurs and West Ham last year, so Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici may need to work their magic once again for Rudiger to have a change of heart.

Perhaps the offer of a long-term contract and guarantees over playing time could persuade Rudiger, described as 'phenomenal' by Rio Ferdinand, especially with his Stamford Bridge contract expiring in the summer at this moment in time.

In other news: Conte and Paratici want to 'mock' rivals by signing 'incredible' record-breaking beast for Spurs.