Tottenham Hotspur target Manuel Locatelli would suit what type of player that manager Antonio Conte wants in his midfield.
That is according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from Hotspur Way.
According to sources in Italy, Spurs’ director of football Fabio Paratici is considering rivalling Arsenal to the signature of Juventus’ Locatelli in January.
The same outlet reports that the north London club are willing to do anything that would tie Conte down to a new contract and a move for the 24-year-old might be something that encourages the Italian to put pen to paper on a new deal.
And O’Rourke believes that despite not having an easy time at Juventus, Locatelli would be the profile of midfielder that the former Chelsea manager would desire.
He said: “Locatelli has not had the best of times at Juventus since arriving from Sassuolo, but we all know what he can do from the Euros with Italy, when he helped him win Euro 2020.
“He’s got a good engine, a big strong midfielder, I think he would suit what Antonio Conte wants from his midfield players.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments…
Whilst we believe Locatelli is a solid player, we don’t believe that Spurs are in need of another midfielder, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur proving to be excellent stalwarts of the midfield for the Lilywhites.
But the summer signing Yves Bissouma has struggled massively to find his feet in Conte’s system and was withdrawn against Bournemouth after another underwhelming display.
We feel that Conte and Paratici should be looking elsewhere to strengthen the side before looking for another midfielder, notably a left-sided centre-back and a number ten.
Therefore, whilst we think that Locatelli would suit Conte’s system, we think that the club need to focus on strengthening other areas of the pitch rather than that of another midfielder.