Zlatan Ibrahimovic has labelled former AC Milan teammate Gianluigi Donnarumma the world’s best goalkeeper amid reports linking the free agent with Tottenham Hotspur, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.
During his time at Juventus, esteemed sporting director Fabio Paratici was famed for his ability to sniff out a bargain like a hungry tiger shark scenting the smallest droplet of blood.
Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey and Blaise Matuidi all joined Juve for nothing during the Paratici era and, if reports are to be believed, the Italian talent-spotter could be about to bring his transfer market nous to the Premier League.
Will Donnarumma be Conte’s first Tottenham signing?
If Antonio Conte replaces his nemesis Jose Mourinho in the north London dugout, Paratici is expected to join his former Juventus partner at a club desperate to improve on last season’s dismal seventh-place finish.
And, according to Tuttosport, Donnarumma has been identified as the first signing of a bold new era at Spurs.
A superstar on a free? How typically Paratici.
Donnarumma recently ended his long association with Italian giants Milan in acrimonious circumstances, leaving the San Siro after the Rossoneri allegedly refused to meet his £120,000-a-week wage demands – much to the frustration of a certain Ibrahimovic.
“(Donnarumma) grew up in Milan. He could have been the team’s goalkeeper for 20 years – maybe not 20, because he is not Ibra – but he is the strongest in the world,” Zlatan quipped in his typically understated style.
“I would tell him to stay at Milan until the end.”
It’s no secret Tottenham are scouring the market for a potential Hugo Lloris replacement.
Mike Maignan and Gregor Kobel have already slipped through their fingers, the latter joining Dortmund while the former has arrived at Milan as Donnarumma’s successor.
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