Tottenham Hotspur aren’t done yet.
Spurs have enjoyed a busy summer, signing a number of players to strengthen Jose Mourinho’s squad.
Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon are, of course, the most headline-grabbing acquisitions, both arriving from Real Madrid, the former on loan and the latter on a permanent transfer.
But while Spurs have bolstered effectively in a number of positions, they have yet to sign a centre-back.
It appears that there is interest in signing a player from Serie A and Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar appears to be at the top of their radar.
Steve Hitchen, the club’s chief scout, was pictured in Italy, seemingly negotiating a deal for the centre-back, who is reportedly keen to move to north London.
An agreement has yet to be reached, though, with the transfer deadline looming large.
Sport Witness carries a report from Sport Mediaset, though, claiming that the club are ready to table a fresh bid for Skriniar in the coming days.
The centre-back is ready and willing to move, and Spurs are prepared to make a bid worth an initial €44 million (£40.1m) plus add-ons, which could bring them much closer to Inter’s asking price of €50m (£45.5m).
There is no indication of how the add-ons will be structured or if the bonuses would take the fee over the Italian club’s asking price.
Skriniar has made 129 appearances in total for Inter since his arrival in 2017, and has also won 31 caps for Slovakia.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This is a promising move from Spurs.
They need to strengthen the backline after Jan Vertonghen’s free transfer to Benfica, and a deal for Skriniar would see the club acquire a genuinely exceptional defender.
In the 2019/20 season, he made 32 appearances in Serie A, making an average of 1.2 tackles per game, 0.9 interceptions, 2.6 clearances, and a pass success rate of 92.1% from 62.4 average passes per game, per WhoScored.
This is an excellent centre-back who has the physicality and dexterity needed to make the leap to the Premier League.
Bringing in the 25-year-old would help cap off a genuinely exceptional window for Spurs; this has to be a priority for chairman Daniel Levy.