Premier League duo Manchester United and Spurs are reportedly keen to sign Fiorentina’s Serie A centre-back Nikola Milenkovic.
Toby Alderweireld may be happy with life in North London right now but the fact that he has still not committed his future to Tottenham Hotspur cannot be overlooked. As a result, it seems that Spurs are scouring the market for a long-term replacement for their Belgian centre-back.
And Nikola Milenkovic could be that man.
The Mirror reported last week that Tottenham have been watching the 21-year-old Fiorentina defender and have identified him as a potential successor Alderweireld in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI.
But the Serbian World Cup star will not come cheap. Not after Manchester United made a massive offer anyway.
According to Stadiosport, Manchester United have offered Fiorentina £53 million to sign Milenkovic in January with Jose Mourinho’s need for a top quality centre-back well documented.
Spurs, then, will have little option but to break their transfer record if they really want to bring the former Partizan Belgrade player to North London.
Tottenham spent £42 million on another young defender last summer in Davinson Sanchez but it remains to be seen whether chairman Daniel Levy is prepared to stump up another huge fee for a future defensive star.
After failing to spend a penny in the summer, Spurs need to show some ambition to avoid falling adrift of the chasing pack. Beating Mourinho to Milenkovic would be a statement in itself.
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