Olympique Marseille are close to signing AS Roma midfielder Jordan Veretout as a new partner for former Arsenal star Matteo Guendouzi, with Tottenham set to miss out on the France international.
According to Foot Mercato, the 29-year-old is close to joining Marseille on loan for the season, with the deal essentially a transfer with Veretout’s contract set to expire next summer and the French side likely to take up the option to sign the former Aston Villa star on a permanent deal in 2023.
Following the departure of Boubacar Kamara this summer at the end of his contract, Marseille have been looking for a new midfielder to play alongside Guendouzi for the upcoming season, where the Ligue 1 giants will be playing in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and new manager Igor Tudor has seemingly settled on Veretout.
Despite making 50 appearances for Roma last season as Jose Mourinho’s side won the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League, Veretout is believed to be keen on a move back to France this summer to secure more regular playing time ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which begins in November.
Despite reported interest from Tottenham, Marseille have been the side to win the race to sign Veretout, who could now win himself a spot in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup squad for Qatar, with the midfielder only becoming an international for Les Bleus last year.
With a reported price tag of £13m, Roma are missing out on a decent payday for Veretout, and with Tottenham also missing out on the midfielder, Marseille are huge winners in this transfer, with Tudor signing a player ahead of potential Champions League rivals and managing to get player from Mourinho for free.
Tottenham missed out on a trick not beating Marseille to Veretout signing
Tottenham have done some solid business this summer in Antonio Conte’s first major transfer window as manager of the club, yet the Italian might have a missed a trick trying to bring Veretout back to the Premier League as Marseille look to wrap up the Frenchman in the coming days.
After all, whilst Yves Bissouma has arrived, an extra midfielder would have been helpful for Tottenham, especially one on loan for the season like Veretout, who could now make Spurs regret not signing him in Europe if Marseille meet the north London side in the Champions League.
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