Paratici wants reunion with Juventus attacker as Tottenham plot January deal

Dejan Kulusevski in action for Juventus against Spezia

Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici wants to be reunited with Juventus attacker Dejan Kulusevski in north London, according to reports on Sunday.

The Sweden international is currently struggling to earn a regular starting spot at Juve this term but Paratici knows him well, having signed the player for Juve during his time in a similar role in Turin.

The Sunday Mirror states that Spurs are keeping a close eye on the 21-year-old’s situation, with a view to a January swoop.

The report adds that Tottenham scouts have been over to Italy to watch the player in action this season.

Despite his young age, Kulusevski has already won 16 Sweden caps. He was also labelled ‘excellent’ by former Juve star Cristiano Ronaldo only a year ago.

Ronaldo said: “He is a great talent. He will help us to win and achieve incredible things. I really like to see him, he has a great potential, and he’s an excellent player.

“I hope to play with him and score a lot of goals together,” Ronaldo added, before returning to Manchester United.

More attacking options for Nuno Espirito Santo could well be on the cards in the new year. Spurs have so far struggled for goals in the opening weeks of the new campaign.

Spurs' Tanguy Ndombele interesting Manchester United

Spurs' Tanguy Ndombele interesting Manchester United

Manchester United reportedly view Tanguy Ndombele as a possible Paul Pogba replacement, as Spurs are dealt a blow in pursuit of Serie A forward.

Kulusevski is regarded as one of Europe’s up and coming young stars. However, it’s hard to see where he can force his way into a Tottenham side that is already loaded with wide talent.

Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn and Bryan Gil are already options for Nuno. However, the first three have all had injury issues early in the season.

As for the transfer fee for Kulusevski, there is no mention of that in the Mirror report. However, transfermarkt currently values him at £36m.


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Nuno called out over Dele tactic

Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp has urged Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo to stop making a “very strange” call over Dele Alli at set-pieces, amid the club’s poor record of conceding.

Spurs head into Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal following two successive Premier League defeats. However, they have not scored in either of those matches.

Arguably more worrying, though, is that they have conceded six times in those 180 minutes.

Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo greeting Dele Alli

A 3-0 defeat to Chelsea followed the same scoreline against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Spurs impressed during the first half of last Sunday’s match against Chelsea. However, they were undone by Chelsea’s second-half goals, one of which came from a corner.

For that set-piece, midfielder Dele was marking goalscorer Thiago Silva, with Antonio Rudiger – who had Cristian Romero for company – close by. Speaking to The Sun, Redknapp slammed Tottenham’s bizarre set-piece organisation.

“Of course they’re going to be conceding at set pieces when they’ve got Dele Alli marking the likes of Thiago Silva,’ the former Tottenham boss said.

“I thought it was very strange for Nuno and his backroom staff to sit in the dressing room before the Blues clash and make that call.

“He’s identified set pieces as a weakness in his team. But then he’s putting Alli up against Silva, who wants to come and head the ball for his life.”

READ MORE: Tottenham man in need of serious work after alarming midweek stats, says pundit