Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur are looking to sign Monaco’s Mamadou Coulibaly for free as Fabio Paratici turns his focus to up-and-coming and affordable talent, as reported by The Mail.
During a decade behind the scenes at Juventus, Paratici earned a deserved reputation as one of the transfer markets most shrewd operators.
Andrea Pirlo’s shock move from Serie A rivals AC Milan in the summer of 2011 set the tone. Between then and Paratici’s departure nine years later, Juventus signed Paul Pogba, Fernando Llorente, Sami Khedira, Dani Alves, Emre Can, Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey and a young Kingsley Coman on free transfers.
And though not all of his signings worked out – Ramsey and Rabiot struggled to live up to expectations while Coman left for Bayern Munich after just one year in Turin – Paratici’s eye for a bargain could come in very handy at a Tottenham Hotspur side who, in comparison to the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, are hardly drowning in cash.
Will Mamadou Coulibaly spark a transfer change at Tottenham?
According to The Mail, Paratici is planning to replicate his Juventus blueprint in North London.
The report claims that, in addition to players on expiring contracts, the Tottenham director will prioritise young, up-and-coming talent boasting sizeable re-sale value.
Such as Nottingham Forest duo Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence, for instance.
Mamadou Coulibaly, a teenage midfielder contracted to Ligue 1 giants Monaco, is another name on Paratici’s re-vamped hitlist.
Coulibaly will be a free-agent in July. Paratici has ‘declared a strong interest’ in a man viewed as one of the most exciting box-to-box midfielders in Europe.
Tottenham have also been linked with Antonio Rudiger, Ousmane Dembele and Andrea Belotti. Like Coulibaly, all three will be available for nothing come the summer of 2022.
Long-term Spurs target Nicolo Zaniolo, meanwhile, is facing an uncertain future at Roma with contract talks stalling. Paratici admitted, back in 2019, that he would have loved to sign the swaggering Italy international for Juventus.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
