Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia has been consistently linked with Tottenham over the last 12 months. However, it appears that the possibility of a move has been intensified in the last few days after the player’s agent has reportedly (Sportwitness) come to London in order to hold further talks with Tottenham. It does not come as a major surprise that Spurs are interested in a new central defender, as the club will be without Jan Vertonghen for up to 2 months following a major injury to the player in the 4-0 win over West Brom.
Vertonghen has been an integral part of the club’s title challenge this season. The last time the club were without a main stay in the centre of defence – Toby Alderweireld – they struggled big time and manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to avoid a repeat of the same. Spurs have some crucial games coming up in the next 2 months with games against Manchester City and Liverpool away from home. Both these games will go a long way into determining their title challenge, and Pochettino wants to be prepared with some of the best players in his line-up.
At 28 years of age, Ranocchia will provide a wealth of experience which will be a key in settling into the Premier League after a January move. A number of the Spurs’ summer signings have struggled to hit the ground running largely because they are extremely young and are struggling to cope with the demands of the Premier league. Pochettino recently revealed that it may take at least a season before the likes of Vincent Janssen start to hit their top form. As Ranocchia will not be faced with such troubles, the Inter Milan defender seems like a great option for the league’s second-placed outfit.
A towering centre back, Ranocchia his in contract with Inter Milan until the summer of 2019. He has been with the club since 2011, although it has coincided with a difficult time for the club on all regards. An Italian cup winner, Ranocchia was an £18 million acquisition for the Italian outfit, but he appears to have fallen out of favour with the club. This led to the loan move to Sampdoria towards the end of last season. It is understood that the Italian club wants around €10 million for the player.
A recent statistic revealed that Spurs have had a net spend of £1 million in the last 5 seasons, and it shows the scale of the prudence by chairman Daniel Levy especially when it comes to transfers. It looks highly unlikely that he will splash out €10 million on a player who is going to be a short-term fix.
