If there was one thing Antonio Conte had made clear prior to the January transfer window, it was that he wanted Fabio Paratici to bring in a couple of players for him.
For the longest time, it appears the Tottenham director of football would fail at this task, but the former Juventus man managed to pull off a late double deal with the Turin side that saw both Rodrigo Bentancur (on a permanent deal) and Dejan Kulusevski (on loan) arrive in London.
Whether they were the first names on Conte’s list, only the Italian and those around him will really know, but there were reports that Spurs were also interested in Yannick Carrasco.
The Belgium international, currently at Atlético Madrid, however, wasn’t all that interested in a move, which he explained to RTBF over the weekend in an interview with the Belgian outlet.
He said: “These days, I feel very, very good. I’m at home. I’m well integrated. I’m an important player whether it be on the pitch or in the dressing room.
“I’m already at a certain age too, but football, as they say, you never know how to plan or predict the future. A few clubs knocked on my door this winter, but I’m good at Atlético, so I wanted to continue my adventure here.”
Tottenham were, at one stage, said to be ready to trigger the player’s release clause, which stands at €60m, but that never seemed to actually happen, and Carrasco stayed put.
He’ll be happy with his decision, too, as his side are now in with a shot of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, while Atlético currently sit fourth in La Liga, which cannot be said about Spurs at this moment in time in the Premier League.
