Expert: Tottenham ‘wheels are in motion’ January deal for Stefan de Vrij lined up
Tottenham may already be working on a pre-contract agreement for Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij.
That is according to Spurs expert John Wenham, who regularly breaks news about the club on his Lilywhite Rose social media channels.
De Vrij, 30, is out of contract at the end of the season, as is his teammate Milan Skriniar, 27.
Both players featured heavily under Antonio Conte when he was Inter boss and both have been linked with moves to Spurs in the past.
On 11 November Football Insider revealed Tottenham remain keen on signing De Vrij amid new doubts over his Inter Milan future
Wenham is backing Tottenham to agree a pre-contract deal for De Vrij thanks to Fabio Paratici.
“I would certainly take Skriniar, he is a player we have apparently offered up for £45million for in the past,” Wenham told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild.
“If the chance is now there to get him for nothing or for a lot less than that on a pre-contract, that is something I would certainly be looking at.
“If Conte wants De Vrij, then get De Vrij. I know people are saying that he is three or four years older than Skriniar but if Conte wants to build a side around him then that’s good enough for me.
“I trust him as a leader and if he is available on a free, it just makes sense. Fabio Paratici is known for his success at securing free transfers and pre-contract agreements at Juventus.
“So we have two of the three centre-backs that Conte loved at Inter Milan. We are looking to improve our defence.
“We have had success in signing one of Conte’s defenders from Inter already in Ivan Perisic.
“If Conge wants him, then you would hope Paratici already has the wheels in motion to announce this as a pre-contract in early January.”
In other news, an expert has issued a ‘big’ Tottenham injury claim after Cristian Romero development.