Tottenham have joined Aston Villa in the race to sign Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur; Aston Villa's opening offer of £16.5m with £4m in bonuses for Uruguayan rejected by Juve; Italian side want around £21m up front to be interested in a sale
Friday 28 January 2022 17:01, UK
Tottenham are rivalling Aston Villa for Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after Villa had a £20.5m bid rejected for the Uruguayan, according to Sky in Italy.
Villa's opening offer was worth around £16.5m, with more than £4m in bonuses, but Juve want around £21m up front to be interested.
Sky in Italy believe the two sides are not too far apart in their negotiations before the transfer window shuts on Monday.
But Tottenham are also now interested in the Uruguayan, although the north London side are looking at a loan deal, which the Serie A side are not keen on.
Sky Sports News understands Juve are holding out for more money, partly because 30 per cent of the fee would go to Bentancur's former club Boca Juniors as part of a sell-on clause in his contract.
Juventus signed Bentancur from Boca Juniors for £8m in July 2017 with his current contract expiring in the summer of 2024.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard believes the 24-year-old would strengthen his midfield options, and specifically offer good competition for Douglas Luiz.
Bentancur has made 26 appearances for Juve in all competitions this season, but has started 13 of their 23 Serie A matches.
Bentancur is not the only Juventus player Tottenham are interested in ahead of the window shutting on Monday.
Spurs are in talks to sign winger Dejan Kulusevski on loan, although no agreement has been reached yet and there is no decision if an option to buy will be included in any deal.
The move for the Sweden international comes after Liverpool moved into pole position to sign Porto winger Luis Diaz, who prefers a move to Jurgen Klopp's side rather than Spurs, while Wolves wide man Adam Traore is on the verge of joining Barcelona.
Tottenham have now turned their attentions to the 21-year-old, who was signed at Juve by Tottenham's managing director football Fabio Paratici when he was the Italian side's transfer chief.
Kulusevski joined Juve from Atalanta in a deal worth up to £37m in January 2020 and his contract expires in the summer of 2025.
The clock is ticking. Who will be on the move before the transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday January 31?
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