Report: Mourinho blocked ‘really exciting’ player from joining Tottenham in January

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According to a report from The Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur were very keen to sign Jordan Veretout from AS Roma in the January transfer window.

Spurs remained quiet for most of last month but they came to life in the final few days. Fabio Paratici, after missing out on Luis Diaz and Adama Traore, got deals done for Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Both players are quality additions to Antonio Conte’s squad, especially Bentancur, who will fill a big void in the middle of the park.

Tottenham let Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele leave the club on loan, while Dele Alli was let go permanently. That is why Conte was desperate for a new midfielder, but Bentancur wasn’t his first choice. It was Veretout.

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Veretout was been linked with a move to Tottenham during the transfer window last month. However, a deal never materialised.

The report claims that Conte, who knows the Italian top-flight as well as anyone, is a big admirer of Veretout. He has seen him play for Roma plenty of times and he wanted him at Spurs.

However, ex-Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho, who is now at the helm at AS Roma, made it clear that Veretout was going nowhere. As a result, Spurs had to focus their attention elsewhere.

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Veretout, labelled as a ‘really exciting player‘ by Tim Sherwood when he joined Aston Villa, would’ve been a great option for Tottenham. He is vastly experienced and he knows the Premier League well having been in England in the past.

However, we believe that Bentancur is a much better option and Spurs should be happy they got him.

The Uruguayan is much younger than Veretout and has the potential to become a lot better than the Roma midfielder. He’s a proven winner as well having won three Serie A titles with Juventus during his time there.

Veretout would’ve been good for Spurs but Bentancur can become fantastic very soon.

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