Jose Mourinho could miss out to old rival Antonio Conte in the race for Youcef Atal as Inter Mlan have made contact with the Tottenham Hotspur target, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
Considering that neither the preening Portuguese nor the wild-eyed Italian are ones to bottle up their emotions, it always felt inevitable that we would witness a bitter war of words between Mourinho and Conte when they were appointed by a pair of Premier League giants in 2016.
As such, it was no surprise when the barbs started to fly.
Mourinho, according to Conte, was suffering from a nasty case of ‘senile dementia’. The then-Manchester United boss, meanwhile, was never going to let a whole year go by without sniping at his counterpart’s much-discussed hair transplant.
So if Inter Milan do beat Tottenham to the signature of Nice flyer Atal (BILD), Conte could be forgiven for letting a broad smile stretch across his face.
According to TMW, the Nerazzuri are stepping up their pursuit of the £18 million Algerian international.
It is well documented that Spurs could benefit from reinforcements not just at right-back but at left-back, too. Given that Atal is equally comfortable on either flank, the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations champion looks every inch the ideal addition to Mourinho’s squad.
But it seems that, as it stands, the last laugh will be Conte’s.
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