Multiple reports in Italy and England suggest Aston Villa have abandoned their pursuit of Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, so Tottenham Hotspur and Olympique Lyonnais are now his options.
The Uruguay international had seemingly been a strong target for the Premier League side, with an initial bid worth €20m plus bonuses rejected.
Juve are in a tricky position with Bentancur, as they still owe Boca Juniors a 30 per cent cut of the sell-on fee after signing him for €15.7m in 2017.
Sources including BBC Sport, Goal.com and Sportitalia all maintain Aston Villa have either been left behind in the race for Bentancur or pulled out entirely to focus on other targets.
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are now the favourites, especially as former Juventus director of sport Fabio Paratici is the man who signed Bentancur in the first place.
However, there is also competition from Olympique Lyonnais.
Meanwhile, Telefoot report that PSG will no longer bring in Tanguy Ndembele on loan from Tottenham, even while shouldering his entire salary for that period, as they cannot find a place in the squad.
This could potentially have a knock-on effect for the Spurs transfer strategy in midfield, which includes Sofyan Amrabat of Fiorentina.
L’#AstonVilla si è tolto dalla corsa per arrivare a #Bentancur: nessuna nuova offerta alla #Juventus. Ora c’è il #Tottenham in pole // Aston Villa have withdrawn from the race to sign Bentancur: no new offer for the player. Now Spurs are in pole position for the Uruguayan🔥🇺🇾
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) January 29, 2022
What is with the percentage of the sell-on fee… here it is stated it is 30%, other sources say 35-40%, and Eurosport back in 2017 reported 50% sell-on fee… How much is it then???
Ask Marotta. That idiot made the deal after he practically gave Tevez away for free, who was then sold to China for almost double.
lol @ zambrotta
Zambrotta and other salty Jube fans are like a bitter ex just can’t let go after getting dumped
Marotta dumped your club and is doing wonder with his new lover and you guys just can’t move on
Pathetic