Jose Mourinho a huge fan of Ivan Rakitic amid Tottenham Hotspur links

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen on a deal for Ivan Rakitic of Barcelona this summer, if the Spanish club try luring Tanguy Ndombele away from Spurs this summer. 

As reported by Sky Sports, the likes of Arthur, Samuel Umtiti and Nelson Semedo have all been posited as potential swap options. However, The Express reports that the Croatian star would be a preferred option of Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho.

Rakitic has struggled to play regular football at the Nou Camp this season following the arrival of Frenkie De Jong from Ajax and is believed to want a move away from the club for regular first-team football. 

It would certainly be a move that interests Tottenham boss Mourinho, who is a massive fan of the 32-year-old. 

The Portuguese confirmed as much himself. Speaking as a TV pundit for beINSPORTS after Barcelona’s 1-0 El Clasico win against Real Madrid in March 2019, he labelled Rakitic as ‘one of the most underrated players’ in world football. 

“For me Rakitic is one of the most underrated players in the world. He is fantastic player at every level…

“He runs miles. He’s simple. He’s effective. He’s one of the most underrated players.”

The Telegraph recently reported that Mourinho was hoping to reverse Daniel Levy’s opinion regarding signing players over 25, in order to sign Thomas Meunier on a free transfer from PSG. 

However, if he has the chance to sign Rakitic, based on his previous comments, you would imagine the Portuguese boss would be insisting upon it.