Milan Badelj has been a mainstay for Paulo Sousa’s two man midfield at Fiorentina this season as he helped them to finished fifth in the Serie A. His impressive performances for Fiorentina has caught the eye of several clubs in Europe and reports suggest he could heading to England.
According to Italian website Calciomercato, Tottenham are interested in signing Badelj, who is currently preparing for the Euros with the Croatian national team in France. Fiorentina, obviously want to keep one of their best players and their new director of sport, Pantaleo Corvino, is hoping to sort out his future after the Euros.
Badelj’s future is yet to be decided, but a lot could depend on the offers for the player. Local website Fiorentina News reckon Tottenham or any interested club should pay at least €10m for the 27-year-old.
His agent, Dejan Joksimovic, has revealed to Fiorentina.it several top sides are interested in Badelj, and that it’d be difficult to reject them, as they can offer a much better financial package.
“It’s difficult to say, the player is attracting interest from four top European teams, top teams and which offer much higher salaries, so it’d be hard to say no.
"I have not heard from Fiorentina and I think that there will be no meeting, nothing will happen before the end of the European Championship in France."
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Earlier, reports suggested Tottenham have already made an approach for the Croatian midfielder and officials for both clubs had discussions before their Europa League clash. The player was reportedly unhappy with Fiorentina, as they were yet to pay him a bonus that was promised to him when he signed from Hamburger SV in 2014.
Badelj could be a very good low-cost option for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who’d need a more competitive squad next season for the Champions League. Eric Dier is likely to be the first choice option for Pochettino next season too, after his inspiring performances in this campaign and it’s unlikely Badelj would walk straight into the first team.
The 27-year-old made 35 appearances for the Viola this season in all competitions, and has a couple of years left in his contract at the Serie A club. There is also an option to extend his contract for another year, but it’s unclear who has the rights to trigger it.
