Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that the Serie A outfit have met with Tottenham Hotspur to discuss the potential transfer of Milan Skriniar. The Nerazzurri chief made the revelation on Saturday but swiftly dashed the hopes of the London club, citing that despite the claim of the Slovakian angling towards an exit, his side are eager to hold onto him.
Despite signing the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Joe Hart, Matt Doherty, Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale, Jose Mourinho still aims to add more fresh legs to the ranks. The end of last season saw Jan Vertonghen depart the club as a free agent, creating the space for another player to be potentially recruited.
In the past few weeks, there have been claims that the North London outfit are in the transfer market to sign a new centre back. Benfica's Ruben Dias and Inter's Milan Skriniar are the two players whose names have dominated headlines as the likely candidates. Recent reports from England have stated that Manchester City are particularly closing in on Dias' signing after talks to secure the service of Kalidou Koulibaly stalled.
Rubén Dias to Manchester City, here we go confirmed! After tonight match, Benfica also completed the agreement on personal terms with Nicolás Otamendi who'll be part of the deal [contract until 2023].
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 26, 2020
Dias will be in Manchester on next hours to have medicals. #MCFC #transfers
That leaves Tottenham Hotspur with Milan Skriniar, and the player's club have confirmed that interest exists from the Premier League outfit. Initially, a move away was said to be difficult after the Serie A outfit ruled out his sale. This came on the back of the fact that Giuseppe Meazza outfit has already sanctioned the departure of Diego Godin to league rivals Cagliari and are not looking to get another defender off their books.
However, following Saturday's remarkable 4-3 win over Fiorentina, sporting director Piero Ausilio stated that the stance of the club could change should an important offer arrive.
"I will not confirm any negotiations for Skriniar," Ausilio stated.
"There was a meeting with Tottenham, that is true, but we simply reiterated that Skriniar is not on the transfer market.
"We've already released Diego Godin from the defence and cannot think of losing Skriniar too. He's part of our project here at Inter.
"But I don't know if an important bid will arrive in the coming days... it's possible that the club will consider it because of the financial situation".
Inter sport director Piero Ausilio: "Tottenham are interested in Milan Skriniar. We had a meeting but we told them we don't want to sell also Skriniar after Diego Godin". #Inter #THFC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 26, 2020