Tottenham Hotspur have missed out on signing Paris Saint-Germain defender Milan Skriniar, allegedly one of their targets for the January window.
With Sergio Romero and Micky van de Ven having spent the majority of the last two months on the sidelines, head coach Ange Postecoglou is eager to strengthen his backline before the February 3 deadline.
Spurs have recently dropped down to 15th position in the Premier League table, their recent form leading to constant speculation regarding the future of Postecoglou.
Throughout January, Skriniar is one of the central defenders who has been linked with a transfer to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium having dropped down the pecking order at Parc des Princes.
However, as reported by several sources, the Slovakia international has instead decided to move to Turkey.
🚨🟡🔵 Milan Škriniar, on his way to Istanbul in order to become Fenerbahçe player from PSG!
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 22, 2025
Agreement sealed in the morning. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/ukSATMTBgJ
Fenerbahce win Skriniar race
Journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu was first to report that the 29-year-old had shunned interest from elsewhere to make the transfer to Fenerbahce.
A 'deal in principle' on a permanent basis was said to have been agreed, Skriniar reportedly turning down proposals from three other clubs.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano then posted an image of Skriniar on a plane holding a Fenerbahce shirt, effectively confirming the move providing that a medical is passed.
Fenerbahce have since confirmed that "meetings" will now be held to complete a deal as soon as possible, Skriniar in line to link up with former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.
Napoli - managed by another ex-Spurs head coach in Antonio Conte - and Galatasaray have also been credited with an interest in recent days.
Skriniar has been restricted to just four starts and one substitute outing in Ligue 1 this campaign, as well as not playing a single Champions League fixture.
© Imago
Second defensive arrival
On Tuesday, it was widely reported that Fenerbahce had agreed to sign Aston Villa centre-back Diego Carlos for a fee in the region of £8.4m.
Mourinho is seemingly eager to strengthen in that area of the pitch despite just 18 goals being conceded in 19 Super Lig fixtures, the joint-best record in the division.
Should either or both deals be completed over the next 48 hours, their respective debuts could come against Goztepe on Sunday.
Darren Plant
