Spurs must be ready to pounce on £45m 'gladiator' who had Mane in his pocket, amid reports

Tottenham Hotspur could really do with bolstering their defence come the summer.

The Spurs back line has struggled in recent years, and Antonio Conte is still having big problems in defence.

Those problems were evident against Wolves last time out.

However, there have been some promising transfer reports doing the rounds in recent days.

Fabrizio Romano recently claimed that Tottenham will “100 percent” sign a new centre-back in the summer window.

Spurs have been linked Inter Milan duo Stefan de Vrij and Milan Skriniar.

Both players were in action against Liverpool in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg.

But while De Vrij struggled against the Reds in Inter’s 2-0 defeat, Skriniar excelled.

Calciomercato joked that he marked Sadio Mane so tightly, he “even followed Mane to the bathroom.

“Conceded practically nothing to him. Played like a gladiator and forced Klopp to replace the winger.”

The Daily Star claimed in November that Antonio Conte was keen on bringing Skriniar to N17.

In June last year, football.london claimed that the player himself was keen on a switch to Tottenham.

However, his high valuation put an end to the deal – Inter reportedly wanted £45million.

Skriniar’s contract expires in 2023, but he’s reportedly preparing to negotiate a new deal with Inter.

According to Calciomercato, he’s after 4.5m euro per season, which works out at around £72,000-a-week.

Tottenham – or indeed any other leading Premier League club – could easily offer a lot more.

And the prospect of working with Conte again could well appeal to Skriniar.

But really, there’s not much more Tottenham can do at this stage.

That said, if talks between Inter and Skriniar don’t prove fruitful, then Spurs must pounce.

Spurs must be ready to pounce on £45m ‘gladiator’ who’s had Mane in his pocket, amid reports – TBR View