Aleksandar Stankovic, who Tottenham Hotspur have been tracking for many months, has now given a clear response to the Lilywhites.
Since the start of the calendar year, it has been widely reported that Tottenham have scouted Alexander Stankovic, who thrived at Club Brugge following his switch from Inter Milan last summer.
The 20-year-old Serbian, who is the son of Inter Milan legend Dejan Stankovic, has turned a lot of heads with his impressive displays in Belgium over the last 12 months.
It was previously reported that Man United, Arsenal, and Chelsea could challenge Spurs for the midfielder, but none of those clubs has been successful in securing the player, who has now returned to his former club.
Aleksander Stankovic rejected Tottenham’s advances
A couple of weeks ago, Inter Milan activated their £20m buy-back clause for the Spurs target, which came as a blow to the Lilywhites.
Sky Sports Italy journalist Matteo Barzaghi has now revealed that prior to his return to the San Siro, Stankovic rejected advances from Tottenham and Brentford.
Barzaghi told FC Inter News: “Inter brought Ale Stankovic back to Milan for €23 million (£19.8m). He turned down Brentford and I would also add Tottenham. He has an iron will to stay at Inter. Then there are the various transfer market dynamics, but Inter want players with an iron will to stay.”
Spurs are pursuing Premier League-proven stars this summer
Tottenham have evidently changed their transfer strategy this summer, with the club pursuing proven Premier League performers rather than youngsters with potential.
That is also demonstrated by the fact that Spurs are attempting to complete big-money deals for Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
It thus appears unlikely that Stankovic would have been the top midfield option on Roberto De Zerbi’s radar this summer, with the Newcastle and West Ham stars being much better equipped to hit the ground running at N17.
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