During the latest edition of his Here We Go podcast, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano spent some time talking about Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in signing Internazionale centre-back Milan Skriniar.
The Slovak defender has been linked with a move to Spurs of late, with the Daily Mail claiming that the north London club ‘have held talks over a deal’ with the player’s current club, Inter, though the two clubs allegedly ‘remain some way apart on valuation with the Italians asking for £52m.’
Gianluca Di Marzio recently reported that Skriniar ‘is very interested’ in a potential move to Spurs, and during this recent edition of the Here We Go podcast, Romano shared that Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho also has an affection for the defender.
The journalist said: “Mourinho was on the stand in San Siro like two or three years ago watching Skriniar when he was Manchester United manager. He has always had a passion for Skriniar.
“He’s having some problems playing with three defenders with [Antonio] Conte, that’s why Inter are considering to sell him, but when you play with four, Milan Skriniar is perfect, so that’s why Mourinho wants him.
“The problem is that talks have started between Tottenham and Inter, €60m is the price tag from Inter for Milan Skriniar and I think, in this moment, it’s impossible to see Tottenham paying €60m.”
Would Skriniar be a good signing for Spurs?
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TIF Thoughts…
So, as can be seen in what the journalist had to say, it seems as though both Mourinho and Skriniar would like to make this transfer happen and the only real hold-up with this deal, at present, is the need for the two clubs to find an agreement on the player’s transfer fee.
Last season, the 25-year-old earned an overall WhoScored rating of 6.61/10 in Serie A, which is a lower overall rating than he earned in either of his other two league campaigns with Inter since joining the club in July 2017, indicating that he’s not coming off the back of a very positive campaign.
However, the defender was Inter’s joint-third-highest rated player in the league back in the 2017/18 season, when he earned a more impressive overall WhoScored rating of 7.2 in Serie A, so if Mourinho believes he could return Skriniar to his best form, then hopefully, for Lilywhites fans, their club can come to some sort of agreement with Inter on the player’s transfer fee.