Tottenham Hotspur have prepared a bid as they look to sign Davide Frattesi from Inter Milan in January, it has been claimed.
Reports in the Italian press state Tottenham are willing to pay a ‘significant’ fee of €35million (£29.3m / $36.9m) to bring Frattesi to the Premier League. Tottenham have been put on alert by the fact Frattesi has ‘complained’ about his lack of game time at Inter.
The midfielder, who can operate in either of the No 8 or No 10 roles, has made 16 appearances for Inter so far this term but has had to settle for a role as a substitute in recent weeks.
Frattesi is being rotated as Inter boss Simone Inzaghi seems to prefer other players such as Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu.
Frattesi is resultantly ready to consider offers this winter and Spurs are the frontrunners to land him.
The report, which originates from Inter Live, states that Inter want to make at least a small profit when selling the Italy international.
Spurs’ £29.3m bid could therefore be successful as the Nerazzurri paid Sassuolo around €31m (£25.9m / $32.6m) when signing Frattesi.
Spurs would also be able to offer Frattesi a better contract than the one he currently has in Italy.
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Spurs in for Davide Frattesi
Of course, the 25-year-old would face a tough test to get into Ange Postecoglou’s midfield, just like he is currently having to deal with at Inter.
Spurs already have midfielders such as Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Pape Sarr on their books.
Frattesi moving to North London would see Spurs continue their recent transfer policy of scouring the Serie A market.
Cristian Romero, Kulusevski and Bentancur are just some of Spurs’ top stars who arrived from Italian clubs.
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Spurs and Arsenal are monitoring Toure’s development. The 18-year-old left winger currently plays for Swedish outfit Hammarby.
Toure has notched nine goals and four assists this season and is valued at £8.3m.
Postecoglou will be without first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for the foreseeable future after the 28-year-old confirmed his ankle injury.
Vicario suffered a broken bone in his ankle during the stunning 4-0 away win at Manchester City but miraculously managed to keep playing for 60 minutes.
Vicario has now had surgery on the issue and will be replaced by Fraser Forster while he gets recovers.
Frattesi style of play
Frattesi is now in his second season with Inter and fourth as a Serie A player after his previous spell with Sassuolo, and reached a quarter of a century of caps for Italy in November.
At the age of 25, the Rome-born midfielder – who had spells in the academies of both capital clubs growing up – has worked his way up to become a useful squad member for the reigning Italian champions.
A box-to-box midfielder by nature, Frattesi brings energy to the middle of the park and can be the trigger for intensity in his team. He thrives on getting into spaces between the lines and is a capable ball carrier.
Right-footed, he is more of a short passer than someone who will look to spread the play, but his direct nature allows him to cause danger. He currently averages a goal contribution roughly every third game, which is encouraging considering he isn’t always a starter.
Tactically, he usually fits in as a right-sided central midfielder in a midfield three, but playing in a box-to-box role in a midfield partnership is not beyond him.
Strong on the break thanks to his mix of stamina and technical quality, his movement is intelligent as he roams into pockets of space where opponents can find it challenging to track him. Equally, he can break up play in the opposite phase.
There are areas of his game to improve, and sometimes it can feel like more established players are dictating the pace of a game more than him, but Frattesi is fairly unique among the current cohort of Italian midfielders and that makes him an attractive proposition.