TEAMtalk reported on Saturday afternoon that Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to make an offer for Inter Milan center-back Milan Skriniar.
Skriniar has been linked to Spurs before; in fact, Football Insider reported in April 2021 that Jose Mourinho, the club’s manager at the time, had his eye on Skriniar for a summer transfer swoop.
The transfer did not materialise, though, according to Calciomercato, who claimed that the defender preferred to stay at Inter and had no interest in moving to Spurs.
The same news source recently claimed that Spurs are once again interested in signing the Slovakian, and it now appears that Antonio Conte will go one step further by making a formal offer.
The Lilywhites are now “ready” to make an offer for the 27-year-old according to transfer expert Graeme Bailey, who spoke with TEAMtalk.
“Inter still believe that they will convince him to stay but he will very soon be able to field those pre-contract offers.
“Paris Saint-Germain were always and still are, but now all the Premier League top clubs are interested – the chance to land one of the world’s best defenders at 27, does not come along too often.
“So even someone like Manchester City, who don’t have a new centre-half at the top of their wanted list, are ready to put an offer to him. But so are Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Newcastle.
“The battle for Skriniar will be fascinating if he decides to leave.”
His contract is set to expire in 2023 and will therefore be eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January,
But there will be fierce competition for his services; Paris Saint-Germain and a number of elite Premier League clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all said to be interested. However, Inter still have hope of persuading him to stay.
Conte has a great chance to strengthen his defence by bringing in a player who is still at the top of his game without having to pay the hefty transfer fee that would typically be required; Skriniar was previously estimated to be worth just under €60 million (£53 million).
Additionally, Simone Inzaghi has used a three-man defence in every game this season at Inter, so the 6 foot 2 enforcer is accustomed to it and would not need much time to adjust to Conte’s preferred style of play.
The ‘monster‘ of a defender would be a perfect addition for Conte as Tottenham has struggled defensively this season, allowing the most goals of any team in the top eight of the Premier League.
