Inside Futbol

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Inter Milan’s pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero is set for an important week ‘starting tomorrow’.

The Nerazzurri have been working on a deal to sign the centre-back, who has been clear about his desire to leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

With Roberto De Zerbi having been open about his view that players who want to leave should go, the door is a jar, but Tottenham want their valuation of the Argentine to be met.

Inter Milan have just signed John Stones on a two-year contract, however he is not viewed as an alternative to Romero.

With Tottenham having demanded around €40m for Romero, Inter Milan have felt that time could be their ally this summer, though they now look to be upping the ante rather than waiting.

According to Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla, ‘starting tomorrow’ the Italian giants will go into an ‘important week’ in their pursuit of Romero.

Tottenham have already landed Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi to boost their centre-back options, added to Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso.

Booked against Manchester City (A) Brighton (A) Leeds United (A) Manchester United (H) Arsenal (A) Newcastle United (A) Brentford (H) Liverpool (H) West Ham United (H) Sunderland (A) Cristian Romero’s Premier League bookings last season

Radu Dragusin has been loaned to Italian side Fiorentina and the move will become permanent if he makes 22 appearances for La Viola over the course of the campaign.

Romero, 28, still has another three years left on his contract at Tottenham, putting the Premier League side in a strong position.

Despite his efforts, Romero was not able to avoid Tottenham registering two consecutive 17th placed finishes in the Premier League, and he has split opinion.

Last term the defender was handed nine yellow cards and two red cards in just 23 Premier League outings.

Now it remains to be seen what terms Inter Milan will put to Tottenham over the course of the next week as they try to agree a deal to take Romero to the San Siro.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur are facing competition from Turkish giants Fenerbahce for the signature of AC Milan attacker Rafael Leao, with the Super Lig side side to try to convince the Portuguese ‘in the coming hours’.

The Portugal international, who has been on the books of AC Milan since 2019, is expected to move on this summer and the Italian giants are unlikely to stand in his way.

Leao has also decided to stop using a dedicated agent and will instead work with several different people, as part of his plans to secure a move away from Milan.

A move to England and the Premier League has been heavily mooted, with Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham seen as serious contenders for his signature

The move to north London is said to be one which intrigues the AC Milan man, but Spurs do not yet appear to have made a concrete offer.

If Tottenham wait then they could well risk losing Leao as Turkish giants Fenerbahce are making a big push to snap him up.

Leao is ‘not 100 per cent convinced’ by the idea of a move to Turkey, but Fenerbache are plotting to change that quickly.

Former Serie A star Guglielmo Vicario Destiny Udogie Sandro Tonali Cristian Romero Dejan Kulusevski Manor Solomon Rodrigo Bentancur Former Serie A players at Tottenham

‘In the coming hours’, emissaries from Fenerbahce will try to convince Leao about a move and get him to say yes to joining the Istanbul giants, according to Italian journalist Daniele Longo.

Fenerbahce are prepared to hand Leao a lucrative contract worth €10m per year in order to ease his concerns.

AC Milan continue to seek €60m to let the Portugal attacker depart.

Tottenham have so far focused on adding in defence and midfield, with De Zerbi splashing the cash on a number of expensive deals.

He is expected to want to reinforce his attacking options, but offloading surplus to requirements players is also set to be important to replenish the kitty in north London.

Young forward Will Lankshear has just been sold to Middlesbrough, though Tottenham have made sure to include a matching rights clause in the agreement with the Championship club.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Inter Milan have decided to pull the plug on their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur star Djed Spence after deeming Spurs’ valuation of the defender ‘excessively high’.

The Nerazzurri had earmarked Spence as their standout candidate to fill the right wing-back berth ahead of the new season, with the Englishman firmly established as their preferred option in recent weeks.

The 25-year-old’s ability to operate with equal assurance on either flank has only heightened his appeal, making him an especially attractive proposition for the Serie A champions.

Spence also played a key role in England‘s World Cup campaign, helping the Three Lions secure a third-place finish, a run that has only further strengthened his growing reputation.

There had been suggestions the defender was enthusiastic about a move to the San Siro this summer, though Roberto De Zerbi was never keen to part company with him.

However, Spurs had placed a hefty valuation on the Englishman, leaving the Nerazzurri facing a significant financial hurdle.

Nevertheless, the Serie A champions pressed ahead with their attempts, opening fresh lines of communication as they explored whether common ground could be found over a potential deal.

Now, the Italian outfit have decided ‘not to proceed’ with a move for Spence, at least under the current circumstances.

According to Italian journalist Orazio Accomando, Tottenham’s valuation of more than £40m has been ‘deemed excessively high’ by Inter, ultimately convincing the Nerazzurri to step away from negotiations for the time being.

Whether the Serie A outfit will eventually revisit a move for the defender should Tottenham soften their stance remains to be seen, although Spurs’ firm determination to retain Spence means such a scenario appears far from imminent.

At the same time, the Nerazzurri are expected to turn their attention towards alternative profiles, with Nottingham Forest star Dan Ndoye among the names already featuring prominently on their shortlist.

Meanwhile, Spurs are set to keep Spence firmly within their plans and will be eager to reintegrate the defender into their pre-season preparations when he returns from his break.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero has given his ‘openness’ to a move to Inter Milan, but the Italians still consider his price to be ‘too high’.

Two Premier League-proven centre-backs, Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi, were unveiled by Tottenham last month.

Despite Roberto De Zerbi being an admirer of the defender, Romero is understood to have made it clear he wants to leave Spurs amid the club’s summer rebuild.

The Tottenham star has only recently concluded his World Cup campaign, playing a key role as Argentina finished runners-up, and is now in a position to decide his next move.

The 28-year-old, however, still has three years remaining on his contract, while Tottenham’s €50m valuation has limited the number of clubs capable of pursuing a deal.

Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona have all been credited with an interest, although the Argentine is believed to favour a move to the Catalan giants if given the choice.

Barcelona, however, are not actively pursuing a deal because of their wealth of options at centre-back and would only explore a move should the right opportunity arise.

Inter Milan were initially assessing Spurs team-mate Djed Spence before Romero’s name was put forward, although Tottenham’s valuation means any move could likely depend on late developments in the transfer window.

According to Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari, Romero has given his ‘openness’ to a move to Inter Milan this summer.

Inter Milan continue to be in touch with the defender’s entourage about a possible move.

However, at present the Italians view Tottenham’s price tag for the defender as ‘too high’.

Having previously represented Atalanta and Genoa before moving to the Premier League, the Argentina international is well acquainted with the demands of Serie A and would not be opposed to returning to Italy.

With just under 90 Serie A appearances and 123 Premier League outings to his name, it remains to be seen whether Inter can meet Tottenham’s demands and strike an agreement for the experienced centre-back.

Why have I been blocked?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

What can I do to resolve this?

You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.