Tottenham Hotspur are a tempting proposition for Hakan Calhanoglu, according to reports…
What’s the word?
Italian outlet Calciomercatoweb.it claims that Spurs manager Antonio Conte wants to raid his former club Inter Milan once again, this time for the Turkish attacking midfielder.
The 29-year-old’s £157k-per-week contract is set to expire in 2024 and despite efforts to tie him down to an extension, the player is thought to be intrigued by the Lilywhites’ interest.
It remains to be seen exactly how much the Serie A giants would command for a key star like Calhanoglu, though their position is somewhat weakened the closer it gets to the summer as he’ll only have one year to run on his deal.
FootballTransfers currently estimate his value to be around €28m (£25m).
Paratici can repeat Perisic trick
If Spurs can convince the former AC Milan ace about the north London outfit, then sporting director Fabio Paratici could repeat his trick with Ivan Perisic.
Whilst the veteran utility man joined on a free transfer in the summer, he did arrive from the San Siro and would fill a clear void in Conte’s squad as he lacks out-and-out creative and attacking midfielders.
Calhanoglu currently ranks as the Nerazzurri’s second-best performer in the Italian top-flight this campaign, averaging a WhoScored rating of 7.11 after a squad-high five assists, as well as two goals and 2.2 key chances created per game.
It means the 29-year-old, who was once lauded as “world-class” by broadcaster and writer Carlo Garganese, has proven to be a more consistent option than some familiar names such as Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni.
Such returns also see him rank inside the top 4% for assists per 90 and the top 3% for shot-creating actions per 90, when compared to fellow attacking midfielders across Europe, via FBref.
Only a handful of current Spurs players have managed to average more than one key pass per game, with Dejan Kulusevski leading the charge with 1.8 each Premier League outing.
In fact, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is the only non-attacker to create more than 0.7 key passes per match, so Conte’s reliance has very much been on his front three and that simply isn’t sustainable, as we’ve seen when the Swedish dynamo has been absent through injury.
It’s why Calhanoglu – who was hailed as a “leader on the pitch” by his ex-manager Stefano Pioli – would be a very worthwhile addition to the Spurs squad and one that could replicate the abundance of quality and experience that Perisic has added since the summer window.
AND in other news, Mourinho was right: Levy surely red-faced as Spurs could’ve had £45m “monster” for £6m…