Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano discussed Tottenham Hotspur and how close they were to signing Ruben Dias, who has now signed for Manchester City, during the latest edition of his Here We Go podcast.
Last week, it was reported that Jose Mourinho’s side was targeting Dias, however, it then emerged that Manchester City were one step ahead of the north London club, as they’d made a bid for the player while Tottenham hadn’t yet done so, and the Portuguese defender ultimately ended up joining Pep Guardiola’s side for £65m.
Romano discussed Spurs’ pursuit of the player and revealed how close he was to joining the Lilywhites during this recent edition of his Here We Go podcast, saying: “Ruben Dias was really ready to join Tottenham.
“He also had ready, an agreement on personal terms with Tottenham. So, if Tottenham had found an agreement with Benfica, Ruben Dias was a Tottenham player – they were focusing on [Milan] Skriniar.
“He was really close to Tottenham because Mourinho persuaded him but was not the first choice and that’s it.”
Would Skriniar be a better signing than Dias?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
So, judging by what the journalist had to say, it seems that personal terms were not an issue with regard to Tottenham’s pursuit of Dias and the only reason the 23-year-old didn’t end up joining the Lilywhites is that Spurs have been prioritising the signing of Internazionale centre-back Skriniar.
Seeing as Spurs have now missed out on the chance to sign Dias altogether, it will be interesting to see if the north London club can get Skriniar signed before Monday’s deadline or else they may regret focusing on the Slovak over Dias, thus allowing the Portugal international to join a Premier League rival.