Mourinho already planning to sign 23-year-old in January after Tottenham offer snubbed

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Tottenham wanted Trevoh Chalobah over the summer but they could soon see him partner up with Jose Mourinho at Roma instead.

Tottenham were in the market for another defender even after signing Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona.

Japhet Tanganga looked set to leave and adding a versatile, homegrown option to replace him become a priority.

In the end though, Tanganga stayed put with Tottenham and there was no need for a new signing.

Tottenham wanted Trevoh Chalobah

One of the names on Fabio Paratici’s list – one that we can only assume was pretty long given his proclivity for targeting various players at once – was Chalobah.

Now, the likelihood of a deal involving Chelsea and Tottenham is slim at best.

The bitter rivalry between the two clubs just seems to bubble over whenever they meet, as we saw when Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel clashed.

That didn’t stop Tottenham from targeting Chalobah though with The London Evening Standard reporting in August that Spurs were keen.

Tottenham allegedly had a loan offer on the table for Chalobah in the final days of the transfer window before Chelsea blocked a move away.

Chalobah has started just one Premier League game this season though and hasn’t played a single minute since the end of the transfer window.

The 23-year-old will hope for more action under new boss Graham Potter but there is already interest mounting ahead of January.

Corriere dello Sport report that Roma are already looking to strike a January deal to bring Chalobah to the Italian capital.

Boss Jose Mourinho wanted Chalobah in August and hasn’t given up hope of luring him to the Stadio Olimpico.

Mourinho would no doubt love to beat former club Tottenham to one of their targets, whilst this would mean Chelsea doing Mourinho a favour with a deal.

Heading to Roma makes more sense than joining Tottenham, both for Chalobah and for Chelsea.

Chalobah would be in a similar position at Tottenham as he is at Chelsea, serving mostly as cover for first-choice defenders.

Roma can give Chalobah a bigger role and with Chelsea reluctant to deal with their London rivals, Rome could be the destination for Chalobah come 2023.