Report: Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez could help Tottenham sign Milan Badelj

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Fiorentina midfielder Milan Badelj has been linked with Tottenham all summer and Carlos Sanchez’s Aston Villa exit could push the deal on.

Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez has joined Fiorentina on a season-long loan with the Serie A club potentially preparing for Milan Badelj’s exit.

Sanchez, who played a starring role in Colombia’s impressive run to the quarter-finals in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, struggled to adapt to the pace of the English game after arriving at Villa Park from Elche in 2014.

Injuries restricted the 30-year-old (below) to just 16 Premier League starts as Aston Villa were relegated in disgrace and disarray last season and he could consider himself fortunate to join a club preparing to play in the Europa League next season.

However, Fiorentina may have identified Sanchez as a replacement for Milan Badelj, the Croatian international heavily linked with a £12 million move to Tottenham by the likes of the Express after his impressive performances at Euro 2016.

“The Premier League is always attractive, for all of the players in the world I think,” the 27-year-old’s agent Dejan Joksimovic told Express Sport last month.

“If he leaves Fiorentina this summer all the options are available, we have talked about this a lot. Clubs playing in Champions League have priority, if there are some.”

Tottenham’s third-placed finish in the Premier League last season has given them a much more powerful bargaining position with potential new transfers and Badelj (below, left) himself has plenty of continental experience, having played in both the Champions League and Europa League at Fiorentina and former club Dinamo Zagreb.

However, Tottenham still face a difficult task in prising the combative midfielder away from Serie A after Joksimovic admitted to FirenzeViola recently that Badelj was keen on reuniting with former Fiorentina coach Vicenzo Montella at AC Milan, according to Football Italia.

And with SkySport Italia reporting that the Rossoneri have a budget of 15 million euros set aside to sign a new midfielder, according to Football Italia, Mauricio Pochettino may struggle to convince Badelj that it is in his best interests to fight Eric Dier, Moussa Dembele, Ryan Mason and new recruit Victor Wanyama (below) for a starting place at White Hart Lane next season.