Nicolo Barella is set to sign a new five-year deal with Inter Milan despite Antonio Conte being keen on bringing him to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, according to the latest reports.
Reports have ramped up in the past few days that the Italian could be willing to move to Tottenham to play under his old Inter boss.
The new Spurs manager has signed an 18-month contract with the club - with an option to extend for a further year - and will be looking to strengthen his side in the coming transfer windows.
As per Gazetta dello Sport, Conte, who is set to take charge of his new club for the first time against Vitesse tonight in the Europa Conference League, was reportedly keen on bringing the 24-year-old to north London.
However, according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Barella is set to stay in his homeland for another five years and an announcement of his deal is due soon.
Romano tweeted: "Nicolo Barella will sign his new contract with Inter in the next few hours, confirmed. New deal for five years, around €5m per season - announcement soon."
With a move for Barella looking entirely unlikely, Conte could turn his attention to another of his former players in Marcelo Brozovic.
The 28-year-old is yet to sign a new contract with the club and has previously left his future open to interpretation.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster SportMediaset in October, via SempreInter, the Croatian said: “Let’s see.
“We need to understand what they’re saying in the next days. And then we’ll see.”
It is thought that Brozovic's preference is to stay with Inter but it would be huge coup for Tottenham if Conte can persuade him to join the club in the future.
