Milan Skriniar has admitted that he was not very happy with his lack of game time at Inter Milan towards the end of last season but insisted that he still wanted to stay at the Serie A club amid interest from Tottenham.
Skriniar was the one that got away for Spurs during the summer transfer window, with the club being heavily linked with a move for the Slovak but eventually ending up signing Joe Rodon from Swansea.
While some reports have pointed at Tottenham’s apparent unwillingness to meet Inter’s €60m (£51.8m) asking price as the main reason the deal for Skriniar fell through, others have claimed that Antonio Conte had a late change of heart and asked the club to hold on to the centre-back.
Sky Italy journalist Gianluca Di Marzio even published photographs showing Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer chief Steve Hitchen allegedly in Milan to hold talks.
The 26-year-old, who has established himself as an important part of Conte’s starting eleven this season, has now opened up on his failed move to North London.
He revealed that he wanted to stay at the San Siro and prove that he can adapt to playing in a back three.
Skriniar told Tuttosport (as relayed by Inter Live): “When one isn’t playing, they’re not happy.
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“However, when I happened to be out, I also knew why, because I had so many defects in a three-man defence.
“Tottenham? I wasn’t very happy because I wasn’t playing, but I still wanted to stay at Inter. And thanks to my work, I got my job back.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Skriniar has been in brilliant form for Inter this season and has demonstrated with his performances exactly why Jose was keen to bring him to Spurs. I believe our outlook on this season would be completely different had we managed to get the deal for the 26-year-old over the line last summer.
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