Tottenham & Inter 'Far Apart' Over Milan Škriniar Valuation
By Tom Gott
Tottenham Hotspur will continue to push ahead with a bid to sign Inter centre-back Milan Škriniar. However, the two sides are nowhere near close when it comes to agreeing a fee for the Slovakia international.
Spurs boss José Mourinho has identified Škriniar as the ideal man to bolster his defence this summer and has been boosted by the revelation that Inter are prepared to part ways with the 25-year-old.
However, Inter do not feel under pressure to sell and want to ensure they earn as much money as possible if they do have to offload Škriniar. According to The Guardian, they're looking for close to €60m (£54.6m), but Spurs are sitting somewhere closer to the €30m mark (£27.3m).
There is believed to be an awareness from Spurs' side that they will have to increase their offer, although whether they will double their latest proposal remains to be seen. A fresh formal bid is expected to arrive on Inter's desk in the coming days.
Spurs will be even more determined to get a deal for Škriniar over the line after they missed out on the signing of Benfica's Rúben Dias, who has agreed to join Manchester City in a deal worth in excess of £60m.
However, whether they are financially able to do so is a different matter. Big money has already been spent on Sergio Reguilón, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Matt Doherty, while Gareth Bale has also returned on loan, so the transfer well isn't as deep as it once was.
Mourinho may be forced to offload some players before being able to land Škriniar. One potential casualty could be right-back Serge Aurier, who has been pursued by the likes of AC Milan and Spartak Moscow this summer.
There are also question marks over the future of midfielder Dele Alli. Despite Mourinho's public insistance that he's going nowhere this summer, doubts remain over whether Alli will be able to play his way back into the boss' plans.
He was again left out of Spurs' matchday squad on Sunday, meaning he has featured in just two of Spurs first five games in all competitions.