Tottenham confidence grows with help of former boss for €25m Newcastle midfield target
Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are jostling to bring Jordan Veretout back to the Premier League, after he was “shelved” by Jose Mourinho at Roma, reports in Italy claim.
Veretout previously spent a season with Aston Villa, suffering relegation from the Premier League. Since then, he has rebuilt his reputation in Europe – or at least he was doing until this season.
The Frenchman joined Roma from Fiorentina in 2019 and was a regular in his first two seasons. However, the box-to-box midfielder has suffered a steep decline in form in his third year in the Italian capital.
Consequently, former Tottenham head coach Mourinho has dropped him to a role where he is no longer a regular starter. In turn, Veretout is now willing to listen to offers from elsewhere in the summer, as reported by Roma Today.
Those offers could come from back in the Premier League, where Tottenham and Newcastle remain keen on the five-cap international. Both were linked in the January transfer window and are now expected to come again in the summer.
In Tottenham’s case, the interest stems from their Italian coach Antonio Conte. Doubts over his own future may render that meaningless, but Tottenham will be working to strengthen in midfield regardless of what happens with their manager.
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They have dipped into the Italian market in both transfer windows since Fabio Paratici began overseeing business. As such, they could return for another Serie A star in the shape of Veretout.
He would add a new element to the centre of the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His qualities may complement those of the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Newcastle threaten Tottenham for Veretout
However, they will face competition from Newcastle, who will be keen to flex their financial muscles again in what will be their first summer since their Saudi-backed takeover.
Newcastle signed five players in their first January window with new owners. One of those arrivals was for the midfield, which is an area they could now be looking to bolster further.
Much will depend on their Premier League survival, but that is looking more likely than it was before January, at least.
If either club is to convince Roma to sell Veretout, they must put an offer of €25m on the table. However, should they stump up that amount, the Serie A side are unlikely to stand in the midfielder’s way.
Getting his €3m-per-season (just under £50,000-per-week) wages off the books would be a relief for them given his lack of productive form. They also want to invest in midfield – where they have coincidentally been linked with Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – so would have a better chance of doing so by clearing such space.
Either Premier League suitor should be able to afford Veretout’s asking price. Therefore, he could get a second chance in English football – and another attempt at a career resurrection.
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