Spurs have tried to bring Fiorentina midfielder Milan Badelj to the Premier League since 2011 – and the Serie A star is out of contact this summer.
Tottenham Hotspur’s reported interest in Fiorentina midfielder Milan Badelj has been a gossip column staple for as long as memory allows.
The Mail claimed in the summer of 2011 that Spurs had expressed an interest in the £8.5 million-rated Dinamo Zagreb starlet, with the Croatian youngster identified as a potential replacement for Real Madrid bound compatriot Luka Modric.
Badelj moved to Hamburg instead before joining Fiorentina in 2014 – but links with Tottenham have never really gone away.
An intelligent and controlling midfielder who was one of the stars of Euro 2016, Badelj would offer craft and experience to Tottenham’s engine room – even if Mauricio Pochettino is not exactly short of options in the centre of the park. And, after seven years of reported interest, could Spurs finally get their man?
Well, bitter rivals Arsenal could have a decisive say, albeit inadvertently. It is understood that AC Milan want to sign Jack Wilshere, who too will be a free-agent come the summer.
But if Arsenal tie the England international down to a new deal, Milan will turn their attentions instead to Badelj.
After all this time, Spurs won’t want to miss out because of Arsenal.
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