Milan Skriniar shuts Mourinho down over Tottenham transfer bid
Milan Skriniar looks to have ended Tottenham’s prospects of luring the Slovakian to the Premier League with a defiant message over his Inter Milan future.
Spurs had hoped to land the 25-year-old over the summer following extensive talks with Inter.
However, the two clubs could not agree a free, with Spurs unwilling to pay the £40million asking price.
The north London side ended up landing highly-rated youngster Joe Rodon instead. The former Swansea has done well during the sporadic opportunities he’s been afforded in the Tottenham line-up.
Rodon joins Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez as central defensive options for Jose Mourinho.
Despite that, links to Skriniar remain and there have been reports that Spurs could look to relaunch a bid for the Inter star.
However, Skriniar has attempted to shut down the transfer talk before it begins. And his firm commitment to Antonio Conte’s side appear to have nullified Mourinho’s hopes of bringing him to London.
“I always wanted to stay here. I’m happy to be performing more consistently,” he told the official Inter website.
Skriniar has taken his time to win over Conte, but now looks more a settled member of his squad.
“Now, I’m more used to the style of football here but I don’t think I was too bad last year. The team is growing game by game and everyone is doing better and better.”
Inter now await a series of crucial games against Sampdoria, Roma and Juventus and Skriniar hopes to play his part.
“Each game could be decisive, so we want to take it game by game. Hopefully that starts with a ninth consecutive win in Genoa. The league is balanced this season and we only need to take care of what we are doing. When things aren’t going right but the team is still winning, you work even harder. This is important to get consistent results.”
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Skriniar hopeful of Lukaku fitness
Ahead of Wednesday’s fixture list, Inter sit second in Serie A, level at the top with city rivals, Milan.
Much of their title hopes this season will depend on keeping top scorer Romelu Lukaku full fit.
The Belgian picked up an injury in their match against Crotone, though Skriniar is hopeful he’ll soon return.
“We hope that Romelu is back for our next games,” he said. “But if he is out, we have other players that can come in, even if they have different characteristics.
“Romelu is a really important player for us but we need to play well without him too.”
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