Speaking recently on an episode of the Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano claimed that Inter Milan ‘expect’ Tottenham Hotspur to try again for Milan Skriniar in January.
Following a summer in which Spurs added many players to their first-team squad, including the permanent signings of goalkeeper Joe Hart, defensive midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, right-back Matt Doherty and left-back Sergio Reguilon, as well as the loan signings of centre-forward Carlos Vinicius and right-winger Gareth Bale, one position that Jose Mourinho failed to strengthen was at centre-back.
However, this was not through lack of trying, as the club were linked with a move for the £45 million-rated Inter defender, Milan Skriniar.
And, while a deal for the 25-year-old Slovakia international failed to come off prior to the international transfer deadline, Romano recently claimed, on an episode of the Here We Go podcast, that the Serie A side expect Spurs to try and sign the defender once again in the January transfer window.
He said: “Inter expect Tottenham to come back for Milan Skriniar because they didn’t sign [a] top, top centre-back, so they will [be thinking about] Milan Skriniar as [their] first target.
“What Inter told Tottenham in their last [talks] before saying the deal is off, before deadline day when the deal was completely off, they [said] to Tottenham, ‘don’t expect to arrive in January with like, €30 million, and [manage to] sign the player. We will stay with our [valuation] of the player [in] January, [which has always been] €60 million.’
“To be honest, this is [more] like €50 million with add-ons to arrive [at] €60 million – but they won’t change their decision about Skriniar – if you want the player, you have to pay a [large] fee because [Inter] are convinced he is one of the best centre-backs in the world.
“So, next January, it will be the same situation if Tottenham come back for Skriniar.”
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TIF Thoughts…
From Romano’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that Inter do indeed expect Tottenham to make another attempt to sign Skriniar in January, however, if Spurs are hoping for the Serie A side to lower their asking price for the defender, it would appear, according to Romano, that this is not something Inter would be willing to consider.
As such, we will simply have to wait and see whether or not Spurs do indeed reignite their interest in Skriniar in January, and, if they do, whether or not the club can somehow lower Inter’s valuation of the centre-back.