Juventus may now be willing to sell Samuel Iling-Junior for just £16 million with Tottenham Hotspur showing ‘concrete’ interest in a player also linked to Premier League rivals Everton and West Ham United.
You may be wondering why Juve would consider cashing in on a player with such obvious potential. A former Chelsea starlet who burst onto the scene last term. A shining light in a dark period for a club facing issues both on and off the pitch.
Well, the reason is a rather simple one.
As Calciomercato point out, Samuel Iling-Junior just isn’t playing. Or, to put it better, he isn’t playing enough.
Tottenham in for Samuel Iling-Junior
With Filip Kostic and Andrea Cambiaso ahead of him in Max Allegri’s pecking order, the London-born youngster has played only 112 minutes of Serie A football throughout 2023/24. All four of his appearances have come from the bench.
And, with Tottenham Hotspur reportedly ‘ready to bet’ on a man who started his career at Chelsea before moving to Italy, Iling-Junior’s price-tag has dropped, albeit only slightly. Juventus wanted £18 million over the summer, when Spurs first made their interest known. Now, an offer of £16 million could do the trick.
Capped by England at Under 21 level, the speedy, skilful Iling-Junior is a boyhood Arsenal fan. It remains to be seen whether those allegiances complicate Tottenham’s hopes of luring him to the other side of North London. There is reportedly interest from West Ham and Everton too. Though it’s hard to imagine that the latter would be a particularly tempting destination at present after a ten-point deduction left the Toffees mired in the relegation zone.
Iling-Junior was also linked with Wolves a few months ago.
Ivan Perisic’s replacement?
But should Tottenham be his destination – the youngster joining Ashley Phillips and Luka Vuskovic in Ange Postecoglou’s dressing room – Iling-Junior could offset the likely departure of Ivan Perisic in 2024.
Perisic is expected to return to Croatia with former employers Hajduk Split.
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