Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici is said to have reached out to his friend Giovanni Carnevali to discuss a possible deal for Manuel Locatelli. The former Juventus chief is wasting no time as he looks to get his feet under the table at his new club by signing one of the stars of the European Championships so far.
Paratici has history with Locatelli though, a player he attempted to bring to Juventus on two occasions.
Yet the task became difficult with Sassuolo keen to ensure they receive a substantial fee for the former AC Milan powerhouse.
Sassuolo CEO Carnevali, who has a close relationship with Paratici, has already confirmed Locatelli can leave this summer at the right price.
“It’s true that Juventus made their move for Locatelli last summer, but only foreign clubs have shown a concrete interest in him of late,” Carnevali told Tuttosport.
“We are just at the beginning, but their intentions seem to be serious. We are open to everything, we’ll try to make Locatelli happy even if we need to sell nobody. In case, we would prefer not to include any other player in the deal.
“We’ll evaluate the right offer with the player.”
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Juventus too remain keen but finances may hinge on sales in Turin.
Signing Locatelli would go a long way in helping Tottenham supporters try and forget the embarrassing wait for a new manager, particularly after yesterday’s farce regarding Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso.
Speaking ahead of the Euros, Locatelli admitted his future will be resolved after the tournament.
“It is just gossip. There is such an important competition to play and I am focused on that,” he said.
“It is normal to have rumours about the transfer market, but I will not let myself be influenced by them.’
“It would be a waste of time to think about that, even though I know that after the Euros will have some decisions to make.”
He later added: “I’ll decide my future after the Euros. I talked with Sassuolo board, we know what we’ve to do in July.”
