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Report: ‘One of the strongest defenders in the world’ to change clubs in summer amid Spurs links
A player linked with Tottenham Hotspur is expected to say goodbye to his current club in the summer, according to a report in .
Spurs are believed to be interested in Inter Milan defender Diego Godin as a potential replacement for Jan Vertonghen, whose future at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is in doubt.
, which credits Tottenham with an interest in Godin, noted how the Uruguay international was previously on Jose Mourinho’s radar at Manchester United.
Godin almost joined the Portuguese at Old Trafford in 2018 before performing a U-turn and staying with Atletico Madrid for one more season, leaving the boss “fuming”.
The 34-year-old then swapped Atletico for Inter last summer and has made 25 appearances for the Nerazzurri (), but his days at the San Siro appear to be numbered.
The report claims that, while there is much respect between Godin and coach Antonio Conte, the player simply isn’t suited to the Italian’s 3-5-2 formation.
Godin stayed put in January in an attempt to make it work but it is believed that Inter will now be considering offers for the Uruguayan and get him off their wage bill.
The player is believed to be on a contract worth €5million per year (around £84,000-a-week) plus bonuses until the summer of 2022 and Inter could save themselves close to €20million (£17.5million) overall if they sell him.
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Mourinho appears willing to let bygones be bygones with regards to a player who was seemingly set on a move to Manchester United before making a U-turn, by seemingly wanting to bring him to Spurs.
Godin is undoubtedly a high-calibre centre-back with an illustrious, trophy-laden CV, and Tottenham are certainly in need of reinforcements at the back, particularly if Vertonghen does opt to up sticks in the summer.
Inter’s Stefan de Vrij previously told InterTV, as quoted by : “I am very happy, I am happy to play alongside very strong players like Milan and Diego, who is one of the strongest defenders in the world and has a lot of experience.”
However, replacing a 32-year-old with a 34-year-old doesn’t seem particularly logical, unless he didn’t cost much in terms of transfer fee and wages – but if he’s on around £84,000-a-week, how much of a paycut would he realistically be willing to take?
Needless to say, while Godin is a great player, there are probably much better options available to Spurs this summer when all things are considered.