Japhet Tanganga’s agent is not surprised to see Serie A challengers AC Milan show an interest in the Tottenham Hotspur defender as he faces an uncertain future in the Premier League, speaking via Calciomercato.
After sealing a loan move to Roma earlier this month, Ainsley Maitland-Niles admitted that a conversation with Tammy Abraham convinced him to make a leap into the unknown.
Abraham, after all, had fallen similarly out of favour at a London giant, losing his place in the England national team as a result.
But, five months and 17 goals into his Roma career, Abraham is not the only one who would espouse the benefits of a spell under the Mediterranean sun.
Chris Smalling has played arguably the best football of his career at the Stadio Olimpico. Fikayo Tomori, meanwhile, has gone from Chelsea back-up to one of the first names on the AC Milan team-mate in the blinking of an eye.
According to Calciomercato, Hackney-born Tanganga could join Tomori at the San Siro.
AC Milan are keen on another London-based starlet. And, what’s more, it is understood that Tottenham will listen to offers.
Is Japhet Tanganga leaving Tottenham for AC Milan?
“AC Milan? I’ll try to give a generic answer!” says Tanganga’s agent, Roberto de Fanti.
“Serie A clubs are watching the Premier League a lot. For example, look what happened with (Edin) Dzeko, Smalling or Tomori.
“(Tomori) I think is the best example. He didn’t play at Chelsea, went to Milan and returned to the national team. Tammy Abraham also.
“So I think it’s normal for the big Italian clubs to look to England to see if there are players who are right for them.”
Tanganga has found game-time relatively easy to come by under Antonio Conte, slotting into the manager’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
That is not to say the 22-year-old academy graduate has been one of the success stories of the early Conte era, however.
Tanganga has committed a series of high-profile mistakes in recent weeks and hardly looked assured during Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
When Cristian Romero returns from injury in the coming weeks, Tanganga will likely step aside.
“With the coach (Conte), we considered that Japhet should have more minutes this season,” De Fanti adds.
“There were many clubs interested. The one closest to the player was Galatasaray, an important club at European level. But Japhet has begun to have the belief that he can find his space at Tottenham.
“He stayed here and has played nineteen games since the summer.”
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