Tottenham battling to reduce Inter’s £46m asking price for Milan Skriniar as Jose Mourinho aims to ‘build the balanced squad we all want’
- Tottenham are desperate to strengthen the squad in some key areas this summer
- The north Londoners need to buy a centre-back and a striker in particular
- Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar is a big target for Spurs boss Jose Mourinho
- The £46m price is too high for now but Daniel Levy is battling to reduce it
- Inter need funds for Antonio Conte to make a bid for Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante
Tottenham are trying to drive down Inter Milan’s asking price for centre-half Milan Skriniar as Jose Mourinho admits he is determined to improve the balance of his squad before the transfer market closes.
Mourinho wants Skriniar, who is keen on a move to White Hart Lane and Inter boss Antonio Conte is looking to generate funds in order to make another attempt to prise N’Golo Kante away from Chelsea.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will be confident of beating down the £46million asking price for the 25-year-old Slovakia international who is not expected to start for Conte’s side as they begin the Serie A campaign against Fiorentina.
Tottenham are determined to get a move for Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar done this summer
The San Siro side currently value the defender at £46m, too high for Tottenham for now
Jose Mourinho is desperate to add to his squad this summer to strengthen a top-four push
“The market is open, we have a good squad,” said Mourinho. “Can we have a better squad than we have now? Yes we can. Is the club trying to build that balanced squad that we all want, yes we are trying. Let’s see if that’s possible.”
Key to the balancing operation is Levy’s ability to sell those players surplus to requirements, such as Serge Aurier, Danny Rose, Juan Foyth and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Mourinho also remains keen to sign another centre-forward because he wants to play Son Heung-min from the wider areas of the pitch.
Inter could be encouraged to sell by boss Antonio Conte, who wants to buy N’Golo Kante
Son, having scored four at Southampton on Sunday, led the line in Thursday’s 3-1 win in the Europa League qualifier against Shkendija, until Harry Kane came off the bench in the second half.
“He is not a striker so playing against a low block team like Shkendija was not easy for him,” said Mourinho. “When Harry came to the game and Sonny started coming from the left it’s more his natural habitat.”
Spurs are among the clubs linked with Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik, who wants a contract worth £160,000 a week.