Tottenham Hotspur are often linked to a whole host of players from the Serie A, largely thanks to the Italian contingent at the club.
Fabio Paratici is operating as the sporting director, with Chelsea title-winner Antonio Conte in the dugout as manager.
There have already been examples of success, with the likes of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur proving to be instant hits amongst the Lilywhites faithful.
And one name nearly joined the north Londoners in the summer.
Should Spurs revisit their interest in Malinovskyi?
YES!
NO!
According to Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge, versatile Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi was a player that the club considered signing.
“My understanding was that he was someone they talked about in the summer,” the reliable journalist said to Football FanCast.
“Off the back of a good season for Atalanta. For one reason or another, he’s not had a good season this year. I think maybe a part of that might be because his contract is running down.”
Indeed, the 29-year-old dynamo sees his £21.5k-per-week contract expire in the summer, so he could be available for a bargain fee at the turn of the year.
Interestingly, ahead of the January transfer window, his name has emerged as a potential target once again. Italian publication Sport Mediaset claimed earlier this week that Tottenham were in ‘pole position’ to sign the 51-cap Ukraine international.
Malinovskyi has found game time hard to come by this campaign but last term, he registered an eye-catching ten goals and seven assists across 41 appearances in all competitions and did so by playing in five different midfield roles.
That level of versatility could be a perfect fit for Antonio Conte as he likes to switch between a two- and a three-man midfield at Tottenham.
Going by those returns, the left-footed “cannon” may offer a more creative solution in the engine room, which is perhaps the one thing that the Italian head coach lacks the most, especially with summer signing Yves Bissouma “struggling” a bit tactically thus far.
Whether Spurs will reignite their interest remains to be seen but it is rather intriguing that they did speak about signing him and given the need for strength in depth, Malinovskyi could very much represent a bargain signing in the January transfer window.
