New Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici is trying to make the most of his Serie A knowledge to identify transfer targets, but when it comes to Cristian Romero, he might have to take the blame for a bad Juventus deal.

Pierluigi Gollini is expected to complete his move to Spurs from Atalanta this week, on loan with option to buy at the end of the season.

It is certainly not the only time Paratici has cast his eye over the Serie A market for potential purchases since taking over in London.

The former Juventus and Sampdoria director is repeatedly linked with players currently impressing in the Italian league, especially after the Azzurri won UEFA EURO 2020 and more goals in the tournament were scored by Serie A players than any other division.

However, while Gollini was not first choice at Atalanta following the arrival of Juan Musso and Paratici eyed a bargain, other targets are not proving so easy to snap up.

That includes Gollini’s Dea teammate Cristian Romero, whose profile surged after helping Argentina to win the Copa America.

Paratici knows Romero well, because Juventus bought the centre-back from Genoa at a cost of €26m in 2019.

They left him on loan with the Grifone to mature, then handed him over to Atalanta last summer on loan with option to buy for a total €18m.

That proved to be a very good deal for Atalanta, not so much Juve, seeing as Romero’s transfer value has already tripled to circa €60m.

Defender Milan Skriniar has no intention of leaving Inter, having already been approached by Tottenham and Manchester United in the past.

Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic drew the eye of clubs all over Europe after scoring 21 goals in 37 Serie A appearances last season.

His contract with the Tuscans is set to expire in June 2023 and the Viola are discussing an extension, but could cash in this summer.

Naturally, Paratici could also look to his former club, as he was the one who with Beppe Marotta brought Adrien Rabiot to Turin as a free agent in 2019.

The France international midfielder’s deal with Paris Saint-Germain had run down and Manchester United were the favourites to sign him, but Juve proved more convincing for the player and his agent-mother.

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