The Athletic claim Tottenham are working on a deal to sign Juventus attacker Dejan Kulusevski before the window slams shut on Monday. It comes after moves for Luis Diaz and Adama Traore have fallen through.
Kulusevski, 21, has shown glimpses of magic in a Juventus shirt since Fabio Paratici lured him to the Serie A giants from Atalanta in January 2020. He has since clocked up 74 appearances – having a hand in 19 goals.
Under Max Allegri, his form has worsened slightly with only five of his 14 goal involvements coming since Allegri replaced Andrea Pirlo. Spurs have been linked ever since Paratici took up the role as Spurs sporting director.
Arsenal were also linked earlier this month, while Gazzetta Dello Sport say Everton had a loan bid rejected for the Sweden international in the last few days. They report that he is rated at a lofty fee of £37million.
With Tottenham missing out on both Diaz and Traore, Paratici has turned his attention to a player he knows well in order to improve Spurs. Whether he manages to nab him permanently, or just on loan, remains to be seen.
Tottenham working on Kulusevski deal: A dampener, compared to Diaz
When Diaz was linked with Tottenham earlier this week, fans were excited. There had been hesitancy towards Traore given his lack of end product, but Diaz is considered one of the best outside Europe’s top five leagues.
But after missing out on Diaz, who is said to be closing in on a move to Liverpool, Kulusevski is somewhat a drop in quality. He will hardly start over Lucas Moura – but it gives Spurs another quality in option in attack.
Could the potential arrival of Kulusevski spark exit talk for the likes of Steven Bergwijn and Bryan Gil? Perhaps. But it will give Spurs a genuine back-up for Harry Kane, with Kulusevski able to play up top.
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