By John Essien
Inter Milan’s Sporting Director, Piero Ausilio has ruled out the possibility of any player joining Tottenham Hotspur in January, amid reports they may consider reuniting with their old boss, Antonio Conte.
Conte, replaced Nuno Espírito Santo this week at the North London club and speculation is rife that the Italian will attempt to secure a reunion with some familiar faces.
Defender Stefan de Vrij is among the Inter squad members who have been linked with a switch from San Siro to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, Ausilio has insisted that there will be no movement between the two clubs, particularly at the midway point of the campaign.
Speaking to Sky Italia, Ausillo said: “I’m not worried about Antonio Conte and our players. In January we won’t consider any possible exit”.
Having sold the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku during the summer, the Serie A champions are no longer in a position where they need to sell some of their biggest assets.
Inter Milan decided to part ways with Conte because they needed to cut their operating costs amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The newspaper claimed Inter wanted to cut salary costs by 15-20% with player departures also necessary. However, Conte is believed to have not been keen to work with such a “downsized” project and thus, led to his departure – a decision the club felt proved the Italian’s disloyalty.
Prior to his departure, Conte had led the Nerrazzurris to their first Scudetto in 11 years.
Meanwhile, the 52-year-old won his first match in charge of Tottenham, following a 3-2 victory over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
In a game which also saw three red cards, Conte, watched his side tear into a 3-0 lead after 28 minutes, but were fortunate not to have conceded more than two goals as the visitors fought back in the frantic tie.
