Tottenham Hotspur are interested in securing the services of Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella, according to the Italian news outlet Il Messaggero.
Tottenham have already been one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer window, having brought in six new signings ahead of the new campaign. Antonio Conte has bolstered his central midfield options with the arrival of Yves Bissouma from Brighton and Hove Albion for a fee of around £25million (The Independent) and could be set to further improve his squad.
Earlier this month, The Evening Standard claimed that the north London outfit still has plans to bring in a creative attacker to strengthen their ranks. Barella has played as an attacking midfielder at times, with his primary role at Inter being to be a presence in the attacking areas despite being used in central midfield.
Barella played a key role under Antonio Conte during his time at Inter, with the Italian international helping the club to secure the Serie A title during the 2021/21 campaign for the first time in eleven years to end Juventus’s nine-year reign in Italy.
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The Italian international has prior experience working under Conte as both of them combined to a great extent during their time together in Milan. In fact, it was the boss who helped Barella to break into the first-team set-up, which was a major turning point as the Nerazzurri found success from there on out.
Reuniting the two compatriots together would be a great prospect for that very reason, as it could be helpful in our current situation. Even if Bissouma has joined up with the squad, there could be several departures in midfield which would seriously reduce the depth in those roles.
The likes of Harry Winks, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele are out of Conte’s plans, having been deemed surplus for requirements (The Sun). That means we only have four options in midfield, including Bissouma, with Oliver Skipp, Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg forming the rest.
Barella’s signing could prove to be helpful, but the concerning factor is how the 25-year-old extended his contract to 2026 last season (Inter official). However, Simone Inzaghi’s team is going through some financial difficulties that saw them lose out on Paulo Dybala and Gleison Bremer (DAZN Italia).
Perhaps we could use the Serie A giants’ financially stricken situation to prise away Barella in the process. It would be a stern task but let’s wait and see how this situation would turn out to be in the coming days or weeks.
