Spurs ready to overtake West Ham in Milenkovic pursuit
Spurs are ready to leapfrog Premier League rivals West Ham in the race for Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, according to reports in Italy.
The 23-year-old came through the youth ranks at Partizan Belgrade before getting a move to the Viola in 2017, where he has made 127 appearances in all competitions.
He scored three goals in 34 Serie A matches last term but couldn’t help Fiorentina finish any higher than 13th position.
At 6ft 5in Milenkovic cuts an imposing figure and numerous clubs are interested in buying him this summer, including some from the Premier League.
Manchester United have been the main team linked with the Serbia international over the last couple of seasons but – after completing a deal for Raphael Varane – that now seems unlikely.
London clubs West Ham and Tottenham are the latest two clubs to have serious interest in Milenkovic and the Hammers ‘asked for information’ on him earlier this month.
He was first linked to Spurs as a cheaper option for Cristian Romero but he complated his move to north London earlier this month.
Tottenham are still in the market for another centre-back with Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu the most likely incoming – but Italian journalist Alfredo Pedullà now claims that Spurs ‘can overtake’ West Ham in their efforts to sign Milenkovic.
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The defender ‘will leave Fiorentina’ this summer and Spurs’ interest is understood to be ‘more than legitimate’ while West Ham ‘does not close’.
The Hammers ‘prepared a slightly higher figure of 15 million plus bonuses’ but now it’s Tottenham’s chance to offer even more.