Why Tottenham signing Nikola Milenkovic would be a smart move by Mourinho
According to Calciomercato (h/t Football.london), Tottenham have received some good news as their defensive target Nikola Milenkovic has said that his future lies away from Fiorentina. It is believed that he won’t be extending his current deal which runs out in 2022.
Profile
Nikola Milenkovic rose through the youth ranks of Serbian heavyweights Partizan Belgrade and made his first-team breakthrough in the 2015-16 season. He spent time on loan at Teleoptik in the third-tier to further his development before establishing himself as a regular fixture at his boyhood club.
The 23-year-old made 40 appearances across all competitions during the 2016-17 season as Partizan clinched the Serbian SuperLiga crown and the domestic cup double.
That paved the way for a move to Italian outfit Fiorentina in the summer of 2017 and Milenkovic has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best young centre-backs in the Serie A. The highly-rated Serbian has made 107 appearances for La Viola so far, carving out a reputation for himself as a powerful goal-scoring defender with 9 goals in all competitions (source – Transfermarkt).
A full international for Serbia since 2016, Milenkovic has accumulated 26 caps for his nation and caught the eye in the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Milenkovic can bolster the Spurs backline
Spurs managed to add players in pretty much every position during the transfer window, right from goalkeeper to striker. They brought in the likes of Carlos Vinicius, Gareth Bale, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Matt Doherty and so on. It’s no surprise that they have started the season so well and currently hold top spot.
However, one position that they failed to address properly was central defence. Joe Rodon was brought in at the last moment to add some numbers after the departures of Jan Vertonghen and Juan Foyth. So far, Rodon is yet to get many chances and even when he did feature against Chelsea, he looked very shaky.
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With Alderweireld on the wrong side of 30, it is evident that the club needs an experienced centre-back. Nikola Milenkovic ticks all boxes to come through the door at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium as an excellent addition to Spurs’ backline. The Serbian star has made a massive impact in Italy. He looks more than capable of replicating his consistency in English football.
