£26m January Tottenham move ruled out, star could join Mourinho instead

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Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali has ruled out selling reported Tottenham Hotspur target Davide Frattesi in January but the Premier League-linked midfielder could end up at Jose Mourinho’s Roma, speaking to Corriere dello Sport.

Spurs supporters, cast your minds back – if you dare – to Wednesday’s 2-0 EFL Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. How long did it take before any of Antonio Conte’s midfielders turned on the afterburners and made a break for the penalty area?

By our reckoning, it took until after the 70^th minute; Rodrigo Bentancur latching onto a through ball from fellow substitute Dejan Kuluevski. That was the first time in the entire game that a Tottenham midfielder looked like creating a goalscoring opportunity in the final third.

Frattesi, then, feels precisely like the sort of addition this Spurs side needs. The £26 million-rated Italy international loves to bomb into the box, stretching defences with his direct running. He’s got an eye for goal too. Frattesi is, in some ways, the sort of attacking midfielder Tottenham haven’t seen since Dele Alli’s heyday.

Will Jose Mourinho beat Tottenham Hotspur to Davide Frattesi

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Spurs are showing an interest. Not that Sassuolo plan to cash in on their prized asset in the winter window.

“In January, we will not sell our most important players,” Carnevali explains. “Frattesi is a valid player with great prospects. There are also foreign clubs after him. Our goal is to keep Frattesi at least until June, then we will make the necessary evaluations.”

One suspects Jose Mourinho, still seething after being sacked by Spurs on the eve of the Carabao Cup final a year-and-a-half ago, would relish the opportunity to get one other his old employers. Not to mention one of his seemingly endless supply of adversaries in Antonio Conte.

Carnevali is refusing to rule out another deal between Sassuolo and Roma either, with Frattesi on Mourinho’s post-Christmas wishlist.

“The negotiations with Roma (regarding Frattesi) took place this summer,” Carnevali adds. “But (the transfer) did not go through.

“There is an excellent relationship with the Giallorossi club. Over the years there have been purchases and sales, like that of (French forward Gregoire) Defrel.”