On the latest video for his YouTube channel, football.london reporter Alasdair Gold has been discussing the latest goings-on at Tottenham Hotspur, reflecting on the 1-1 draw against Newcastle United last weekend and shedding some light on the latest transfer news surrounding the club.
One topic of conversation on his recent video was Inter defender and reported Spurs transfer target Milan Skriniar.
The North London club have been heavily linked with a move for the Slovakian international in recent weeks, and whilst it has been suggested that he has agreed personal terms with the Lilywhites, it seems as if the two sides are still some way off when it comes to negotiating a fee (as per Corriere Dello Sport via Sport Witness).
Here’s what Gold had to say about the 25-year-old centre-back and Spurs’ chances of signing him during his video:
“Obviously, one very clear target they’ve got [is] Milan Skriniar. As I understand it, Spurs have been told the price from Inter Milan is £45 million. Tottenham [are] really only willing to go up to £32 million with add-ons, to try and make it more enticing.
“[The] player wants to come to Tottenham, [he] wants to link up with Mourinho. [It’s a] strange situation for him, [he] was first-choice for Inter for much of last season until the restart.
“After the restart, [Antonio] Conte just didn’t really seem to fancy him. There’s been a bit of posturing in the last couple of days.
“We’ve seen the technical performance director of Spurs, Steve Hitchen, was over there trying to do a deal for him. Spurs offered various players including Juan Foyth as part of the deal.
“We saw this posturing [last] weekend, the sporting director came out and said ‘he’s not for sale’, and then Antonio Conte came out after their match and went, ‘he’s not for sale but we could kind of do with a bit of money for our own transfers’.
“It was all very much, ‘pay our price tag, or you’re not getting him’. That’s not closed off at this moment, Spurs will keep going on that.”
TIF Thoughts…
From what Gold suggests, Spurs are still keen to complete a deal for Skriniar, but there is still a lot of negotiating to be done between the two sides before they decide on a fee for the 25-year-old.
The journalist seems to suggest that any claims made by the Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio about the former Sampdoria man not being for sale are perhaps just the Italian club’s way of ensuring that Spurs pay an appropriate fee for the defender.
Do you think Skriniar will sign?
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However, with the transfer window set to close in less than a week, the Lilywhites will have to work hard with I Nerazzurri if they want to get this deal over the line.