Report: Conte is ‘continuing to request’ that Spurs sign 25-year-old

Italian publication Diretta Goal have revealed that Antonio Conte remains keen to reunite with Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella at Tottenham.

It was during Conte’s two-year spell at Inter that Barella evolved into one of the best midfielders in Serie A, with the 25-year-old playing a crucial role in the Nerazzurri’s Scudetto triumph in 2020/21.

Despite Simone Inzaghi adopting a similar system to his predecessor at the San Siro, Barella has not quite hit the same heights since Conte departed the club.

The print edition of Corriere Dello Sport (10/09/22 – as relayed by SerieA24) claimed this week that Tottenham made an enquiry for the Inter star during the summer transfer window.

However, the report added that the Serie A club ‘immediately’ stopped the North Londoners’ approach and ‘did not allow’ the Premier League club to get close to the player.

Spurs’ interest in Barella has now been backed up by Diretta Goal, who state that Conte is ‘continuing to request’ the Tottenham hierarchy to sign Italy international. 

The report goes on to add that the former Cagliari star’s sale will not go down well with the Inter fan base.

Spurs Web Opinion

Given the options that Conte has up front, I simply do not see him shifting from a 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2 anytime soon. That would require the Italian to leave out two of Richarlison, Son, Kane and Kulusevski from the starting eleven, which would not be sensible.

So, I simply do not see where Barella will fit in at Spurs. Any attacking midfielder we sign will be a bit-part player, who will only get a few opportunities from the bench. Thus, I believe Tottenham are more likely to pursue a low-cost option like Malinovskyi than a big-money signing like Barella.

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