Skriniar hope for Tottenham as Inter eye swap deal for defensive target

Milan Skriniar TEAMtalk

Tottenham have been given renewed hope a January deal for Milan Skriniar could be back on after Inter Milan identified a would-be replacement.

The Inter Milan centre-back has been Jose Mourinho’s top centre-back target for the majority of the summer.

Initially, the two clubs were some way apart in their valuation of the Slovakia defender.

Inter value the 25-year-old at around £50million, while Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was only willing to part with £30m.

However, Spurs made their play and almost snatched the defender late in the window, according to a report.

As per FCInterNews, Spurs were willing to pay €2m to sign Skriniar on an initial loan. The deal would have seen Tottenham then pay €40m to make the deal permanent next summer. A further €5m would have been paid in performance-related add-ons.

It’s claimed that deal would have been acceptable to Inter had the bid come a few days earlier. However, two factors prevented it happening when the bid arrived.

Firstly, the timing would have not given Inter enough time to secure a suitable replacement. Secondly, Skriniar was then named in Inter’s side to play Lazio the weekend prior to the October 5 deadline.

However, Inter have now made progress in their bid to find a replacement for Skriniar, as per Tuttosport.

According to the Italian paper, Inter are exploring the idea of a swap deal between Armando Izzo and Matias Vecino.

 

The former Fiorentina man is currently sidelined through injury but some way down Antonio Conte’s plans at the San Siro. As such, Conte plans to offer him to Torino as part of a push to bring in Izzo.

The Italy defender has also been overlooked of late by Torino coach Marco Giampaolo.

As such, the report concludes concludes that the two clubs have agreed to meet in a few months to find a solution to suit all parties.

And the arrival of Izzo at the San Siro could finally see Spurs handed the green light they need to sign Skriniar.

Jose Mourinho is also on the trail of Swansea’s Joe Rodon, with the EFL deadline poised to close on Friday.

The Swansea man is valued at around £18m, but could Spurs could look to wait and instead sign Skriniar.

To further complicate Tottenham’s interest, they could be beaten the punch by a rival Premier League side.

 


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Bale return date revealed

Gareth Bale could make his second Tottenham debut in their derby game against West Ham on 18 October after making significant progress in his comeback from a knee injury.

Gareth Bale - pic via TottenhamHotspur.com

Bale re-signed for Spurs last month on loan after finally departing Real Madrid, for a temporary spell at least.

The winger hasn’t yet managed to get onto the pitch since returning to the North London club though. An injury suffered on international duty has been keeping him on the sidelines.

It has previously been claimed that a knee problem could keep him out until late November. But a story in the Telegraph, cited in the Mirror, now states he could be back much sooner than that.

It says that Bale has made a ‘breakthrough in training’ that will now puts him in contention to take on the Hammers in just nine days time.

 

Read more here…