Franck Kessie and Marcelo Brozovic are amongst the players named on new Tottenham manager Antonio Conte's six-man shortlist ahead of the January transfer window, according to Sportmediaset.

The Lowdown: Conte plots January moves

Conte has been brought in (The Athletic) to replace Nuno Espirito Santo, who was sacked as Spurs manager after the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

There are no shortage of areas in the Spurs squad which need improvement, with Harry Kane struggling for goals and no adequate back-up behind him, while the defence has conceded 16 goals in their first 10 Premier League games. To put that number into perspective, 18th-placed Burnley have let in the same amount.

The Italian is seemingly already preparing for the January transfer window, and he has drawn up a shortlist as a result.

The Latest: Six-man list revealed

According to the reports from Italy, the new gaffer has drawn up a six-man list of potential targets to buff up his squad.

Dusan Vlahovic, Franck Kessie, Marcelo Brozovic, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij and Manuel Lazzari make up the alleged list.

Of course, Conte and Fabio Paratici worked together in Italy to great success, winning the league title with Juventus, so it is no surprise to see the pair shopping in their homeland.

The Verdict: What he knows

While Conte did win the Premier League with Chelsea, it is in Italy where he really made his name. He has won Serie A with both Juventus and Inter Milan, massively upsetting the former's long run of dominance with the latter, while he also coached the Italian national team to a European Championships quarter-final in 2016.

As such, he knows the players in his homeland inside out, and it is not surprise to see him look at what he knows. He even coached three of them at Inter in Brozovic, Bastoni and de Vrij.

There is some real talent there, as well, with the former of that trio having featured in a World Cup final, while £49.5m-valued Kessie (Transfermarkt) for example has been labelled as "devastating" by Antonio Cassano (via Sempre Milan).

Whether he will be able to pick up all or some of them in the next window remains to be seen, but with a reported £150m transfer budget, he is likely to be able to give it a good go.

In other news, the numbers of Conte's contract have been revealed.