Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar said that he always wanted to stay at the Serie A leaders despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur, while speaking to Tuttosport, via Internazionale.
Talk about a turnaround.
This time last year, Skriniar was the odd one out at the San Siro, falling behind Stefan de Vrij, Diego Godin and Alessandro Bastoni in Antonio Conte’s pecking order; the once-indispensable Slovakian finding himself on the transfer list.
Fabrizio Romano, in his Here We Go podcast, claims that Inter would have sold Skriniar in an instant if long-time admirers Tottenham had put £50 million on the table.
But Spurs were unwilling to pay a penny more than £30 million, according to Calciomercato. Insert your Daniel Levy jokes here.
Tottenham’s refusal to spend big, combined with Godin’s summer move to Cagliari, handed Skriniar the chance to re-establish himself at the San Siro – an opportunity he has seized with both hands.
“I was not very happy because I wasn’t playing (last season),” says the former Sampdoria defender when asked about Tottenham’s interest.
“But I wanted to stay at Inter.”
Inter might have planned to sell Skriniar last summer but do not expect the 26-year-old to be made available this time around.
It was his well-taken volley which sealed the Nerazzuri’s 1-0 victory over Atalanta on Monday; a result that lifted the blue-and-black clad club six points clear of bitter rivals AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table.
It is Skriniar’s performances at the other end of the pitch that have won Conte over, however, with the tough-tackling centre-back adapting at last to life in the Inter boss’s three-man backline.
“I had never played in three and, at the beginning, I faced some difficulties . (Conte) is very good at making it clear what he wants from players on a daily basis, which allows you to improve,” Skriniar added.
“Today, if I am a more complete defender, much of the credit goes to him.”
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