It looks like Jose Mourinho is a big fan of rumoured Spurs target, Ivan Rakitic, judging by what the Tottenham boss has said about the Barcelona star in the past.
Mundo Deportivo reported last month that Jose Mourinho was ready to offer Rakitic an exit route from Barcelona where the midfielder seems to have fallen down the pecking order.
The publication had another update on the transfer on Sunday as they installed Spurs as the favourites to sign the 32-year-old this summer.
The report suggested that Rakitic was open to the idea of moving to the North London club and that Barcelona wanted to cash-in on him this summer in order to raise funds for other transfer targets.
It turns out that they were certainly not wrong in reporting Mourinho’s fondness for the Croatian international.
Speaking after Rakitic netted the decisive goal in Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Real Madrid in March 2019, the 57-year-old labelled the midfielder has one of the most underrated players in the world
According to Manchester Evening News, while on BeIN Sports the Spurs boss said: “He’s a fantastic player at every level.
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“He does the defensive work on the right side to compensate for [Lionel] Messi. He runs miles.
“In ball possession he’s fantastic, he’s simple, he’s effective. He’s one of the most underrated players.
“So I want to finish by saying that because normally we speak about the big names and for me Rakitic [is at that level].”
The Barcelona star admitted to being flattered by the Portuguese coach’s words of praise.
Responding to Mourinho’s comments, Rakitic told GQ: “It was amazing to hear that. When I heard it, I said that not even my Dad would not say that.
“He is one of the greatest coaches in the world and gave me a lot of confidence and motivation. I want to see Mourinho in football soon.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While we should not jump to conclusions based on these words, it is clear that both Mourinho and Rakitic share a lot of mutual respect for one another. However, I believe a move for Rakitic would only make sense for us if Ndombele is on his way out of the club. I do not see where the Croatian will fit in otherwise.
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