Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly considering Nikola Milenkovic, who is valued at around €15 million by Fiorentina, as an alternative for Cristian Romero.
According to reputed Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur are keeping their options open in case they are unable to land Cristian Romero in the summer transfer window. To that end, fellow Serie A defender Nikola Milenkovic has emerged on Spurs’ radar, with Fiorentina valuing him at around €15 million.
Nikola Milenkovic joined Fiorentina from Partizan Belgrade in the summer of 2017 and has since come leaps and bounds at the Artemio Franchi Stadium. One of the more consistent defenders in Serie A, the 23-year-old has turned out 133 times for La Viola while chipping in with 11 goals and an assist along the way.
The player’s progress over the years has not gone unnoticed either, with the who’s who from the Premier League being linked with him at one point or another. As things stand, though, Tottenham Hotspur are weighing up the possibility of signing Milenkovic in the summer transfer window.
Tottenham have begun their transition process under Nuno Espirito Santo and Fabio Paratici, having already made two signings in the past week in the form of Pierluigi Gollini and Bryan Gil. And Gollini’s former Atalanta teammate Cristian Romero is Spurs’ priority target to bolster the defensive unit this summer.
The eagerness to reinforce the defence makes a lot of sense, seeing as Toby Alderweireld has left Tottenham to join Qatari club Al-Duhail. And beyond Alderweireld, the North Londoners already had very few reliable centre-backs to begin with, seeing as Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier have often flattered to deceive while Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga are still experiencing teething issues.
To that end, Romero is certainly a viable target for Tottenham, who have reportedly already agreed personal terms with the Argentine defender. However, as per the dependable Fabrizio Romano, the Lilywhites are still in discussions to sign Romero, but are yet to reach an agreement over his €55 million fee.
As a result, Tottenham are having to identify potential alternatives for Romero, with Milenkovic emerging as one such option. Valued at €15 million by Fiorentina, the Serb will be a more cost-effective option for Spurs than his fellow Serie A defender. However, Milenkovic is not the only centre-back being viewed as an alternative.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has been pursued quite aggressively by Tottenham this summer, is one of the options, with Kurt Zouma being another player on the English giants’ radar. Having said that, any move for Milenkovic, Tomiyasu or Zouma will hinge on how Tottenham’s talks to sign Romero progress. It, thus, remains to be seen if a €15 million move for Milenkovic sees the light of the day.
