Tottenham eye surprise move for ex-Chelsea wonderkid
Cameron Smith
- 13 Nov 2023 11:32 CST
- 3 min read
Tottenham Hotspur have identified Juventus star Samuel Iling-Junior as a potential January signing as they look to bolster the squad depth available to Ange Postecoglou.
Iling-Junior, 20, is predominantly a left-winger and has been targeted following Spurs’ recent injury and suspension troubles.
Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Christian Romero and James Maddison all missed the 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Saturday afternoon, and Postecoglou is reportedly keen on adding to his squad during the winter window.
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As a result, Juventus starlet Iling-Junior has been targeted ahead of January, according to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney.
The England U21 international joined Juventus from Chelsea’s academy in 2020, although he has been unable to make himself a regular under Massimiliano Allegri.
Iling-Junior made 12 Serie A appearances last season, scoring once and providing one assist, while he has played in just four league games so far this year (zero starts).
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He came off the bench during Juve’s 2-1 win over Cagliari this weekend to end a run of six consecutive games as an unused substitute.
Tottenham are keen on taking advantage of his unfancied status in Turin and want to sign the Englishman during the January window.
Iling-Junior’s current contract at Juventus is due to expire in 2025, meaning they must tie him down to a new deal or run the risk of losing him on a free transfer in just over 18 months time.
If he does join Tottenham, Iling-Junior will become the third Juventus player in recent memory to join the north London club, following Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur’s move from Juve to Spurs.
Why did Iling-Junior leave Chelsea?
In an interview with The Times, Iling-Junior admitted: “In football you have to be fearless. I have no bad blood with Chelsea.
“They will always have a special place in my heart, I grew up there, I was there from eight years old so of course they tried to keep me, but I just had my head tilted at Juventus.
“Mostly it was because of their history. You look at the amount of trophies they’ve won and the people who have played for the club. It’s not a small club.
“It’s easy to be attracted to a club like Juventus, they breed winners. So it was what I needed to do to become a winner.”
