Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has thrown his hat in the ring for Juventus’ out of favour Swedish talent, Dejan Kulusevski, reports have now confirmed.
Dejan Kulusevski is one of Mikel Arteta’s targets to help Arsenal’s attack get back into shape and it is understood that the Swede is leaning towards a move to the red half of North London.
But with the latest confirmed reports, Arsenal will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to be able to prevent Kulusevski from wearing the white if their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, in the coming winter or summer transfer window.
Dejan Kulusevski signed for Juventus from Atalanta in the winter of the 2019/20 Serie A season on a four-and-a-half year deal, for a fee in the region of €44 million which includes variables. He was on loan at Parma at the time and was sent back to the club to see out the loan deal.
At Parma, he became the youngest player in the top five European leagues to score at least seven goals and make at least five assists. He won the Serie A Best Young Player for the season, and fully joined his new club, Juventus’, the season after.
Following the sacking of Andrea Pirlo, Kulusevski has now been reduced to a bit-part player, starting only four of his 14 games in the Serie A so far this season. The winger is looking for more playing time, and Antonio Conte is willing to give it to him.
Antonio Conte has stabilised the Spurs ship left in a bit of disarray by sacked coach Nuno Espirito Santo but has made it very clear that he wants new players and wants to ship out a few of his current ones.
And with a reasonable transfer chest available to him in the winter window, Kulusevski’s camp has now begun to consider Tottenham Hotspur as a possible destination for their player.
No permanent transfer offer for the Swede on the books yet
The report by Sportmediaset claims that Kulusevski’s agent Alessandro Lucci is looking at both the Arsenal and Tottenham bids for Kulusevski.
At the moment, however, only loan bids for the £31 million-valued former Serie A young player of the year with an option to buy have reached both agent and club.
Antonio Conte likes the 21-year-old’s tall frame and versatility, as Kulusevski is capable of being deployed in several midfield roles as well as attacking roles. Fast, physically strong, and technically gifted, Kulusevski could come in and comfortably give Giovanni Lo Celso, Dele Alli and a few others a run for their money in the Spurs’ squad.
Antonio Conte’s staff assure Harry Kane of full support
Elsewhere, Antonio Conte and his staff are doing all they can to keep their misfiring striker, Harry Kane, who still remains the centre of transfer speculation, happy at the club.
The Italian’s staff at Tottenham have reportedly been working hard to change the mentality of Harry Kane to ensure he’s ready to stay with the club beyond the January transfer window.
Conte is an expert at transforming players, with Victor Moses and Romelu Lukaku being his biggest examples. Spurs fans still have to worry about Manchester City returning with another tempting bid for the England captain, but can count on Conte to do all he can to bring back the old Harry Kane.
