Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly tried to sign Joao Mario.
According to FC Inter 1908, Tottenham Hotspur have rejected the chance to include Mousa Dembele in a deal to sign Inter Milan winger Joao Mario.
The Italian report claims that Tottenham tried and failed with a loan bid for Mario – who spent the second half of last season at West Ham United – because the Serie A side are only interested in a permanent sale.
However, the report from FC Inter 1908 adds that Inter wanted to include Dembele in the negotiations, only to be told that Spurs weren’t ‘particularly interested’ in that proposal.
Mario has also been linked with Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer and it will be interesting to see where his future lies, though the Italian publication stipulated that the 25-year-old – who scored two goals in 12 Premier League outings for West Ham last season – would not be returning to Italy.
Dembele has been linked with a move away from Tottenham, with the North Londoners wanting £18 million for the Belgian powerhouse, according to Premium Sport.
Considering that Mario is worth close to £16 million [CIES, Football Observatory], it seems most likely that Inter wanted a straight swap for Dembele, rather than a player-plus-cash transfer.
But the Portuguese winger’s salary might have also been a deterrent for the Lilywhites, with Mario earning around £75,000 per week at Inter [Silly Season].
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