Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham ‘open talks’ for second Serie A midfield deal after being quoted €20m

Antonin Barak Hellas Verona

Tottenham Hotspur are the latest Premier League side to show an interest in Hellas Verona midfielder Antonin Barak, according to reports.

Barak has been building up a long queue of admirers thanks to his performances in Serie A. He recently scored a hat-trick and recorded an assist in a 4-2 win over Sassuolo, prompting Verona to form a strong transfer stance against his departure.

That came after West Ham were considering making him the latest member of their Czech contingent, alongside Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral.

And Newcastle have also been looking into a deal, until Verona decided to try and deter any interest.

But that does not seem to have put off Tottenham, who have now entered the race for his signature – according to transfers journalist Nicolo Schira.

It is claimed that Spurs have “opened talks” to sign the 27-year-old. In return, Verona have set an asking price of €20m (around £16.6m).

That seems to suggest they are more open to a sale than initially thought. However, they will want it to be on their own terms.

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Barak signed for Verona on a permanent basis in the summer after spending last season on loan at the club from Udinese. He scored seven times from 36 games in the 2020-21 season.

This term, he already has eight goals from 20 games to his name. His form has led to heightened interest in taking him away from Verona.

Tottenham are now the latest club to try and do so. They will face a race against time, though, to get a deal done before the January transfer deadline.

Barak not only midfielder Tottenham want

Spurs are already working on the signing of another midfielder, Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina, who coincidentally also used to play for Verona.

Amrabat appeared 33 times between league and cup in his first season in Florence. This term, he has made 12 appearances, but only has one Serie A start under his belt.

Sky Sport revealed recently that he is on Spurs’ shortlist and things have progressed quickly.

The two clubs are reportedly in talks over a loan deal for the Morocco international. It would depend on Spurs being able to offload Tanguy Ndombele first.

Ndombele is a target for PSG, but Valencia have also made a move to take him for the rest of the season. Should he depart, Tottenham will have spaces to fill in midfield.

And whereas Amrabat could be a sitting option, Barak plays as an attacking midfielder. So, if finances allow, it is not unfeasible for them to want to sign both.

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