Italian football expert Nicky Bandini has claimed she expects Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Milan Skriniar to be on the move this year.
The Slovakia international was the subject of interest from Spurs last summer with Antonio Conte looking to beef up his defensive ranks, although nothing ever came to fruition.
Spurs haven’t been alone in their pursuit of Skriniar amid their interest reigniting in recent weeks. Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, and more recently, bitter rivals Arsenal have also reportedly registered their interest in the defender.
Given that Skriniar has just six months left to run on his contract, it appears quite clear he’ll be leaving, though it remains unclear as to whether that will be this month or for free in the summer.
While speaking live on Sky Sports, Bandini admitted she fully believes Skriniar will be leaving at some point in 2023, although the timing remains unknown.
She said: “They’ve been trying to give him a new deal for a while. My expectation is that Skriniar will leave – certainly this summer, if not sooner – and it has been for a while.”
Having previously worked together in Milan, Skriniar would perhaps be able to understand Conte’s instructions and demands very quickly, while he is also an experienced player, and so appears to tick all the boxes for the type of singing Conte might like.
As things stand, Conte has a number of centre-back options to call upon, but under his watch, he’s yet to permanently bring in a centre-half of his own, so there’s still a lot of work to be done.
We can therefore see why Tottenham may be interested, particularly as they will head into next season a defender lighter if Clement Lenglet’s deal is not made permanent. However, given the amount of interest in Skriniar, we are not so sure the Slovakian will reunite with Conte in the coming weeks and months.