According to Gazetta dello Sport (h/t Sport Witness), Tottenham are interested in Soualiho Meite and have been keen on procuring his signature for many months.
The 25-year-old has made 28 appearances in all competitions for Torino since joining the Serie A side from AS Monaco last summer, scoring and creating four goals for his troubles.
Meite is described as a potential replacement for Mousa Dembele who was sold to R&F Guangzhou in January, but the French u20 international is more of a creative player than he is defensive.
He’s made 24 chances, 35 successful dribbles (71%) and averages 32 passes-per-game with 82% accuracy – not quite on the level of Dembele.
The midfielder’s asking price is reportedly £25m, but his salary demands are unknown. FIFA say Meite earns £1.5m-a-year/£30k-per-week but Football Manager report that his salary is £1.8m-a-year/£35k-per-week – a £2m-a-year deal might be on the cards.
Tottenham would be paying close to £30m to bring the midfielder to London, but whether he’s a priority signing remains to be seen.
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to strengthen his options in the engine room, especially if Victor Wanyama moves on this summer, but Spurs can surely do better than Meite.
Time will tell if their report interest turns into anything concrete in the coming months.
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