Linked with a move to the Premier League in the past, Roger Ibañez has firmly established himself in the starting line up at AS Roma these days.
José Mourinho trusts the Brazilian at the heart of his defence, and the 23-year-old has impressed, which led to clubs such as Tottenham and Newcastle United to be interested over the summer.
It’s no secret that Eddie Howe was looking for a new centre-back, and following a long pursuit of Sven Botman, they got their man.
However, there was a point when Milan in Italy looked to be in the lead, since that’s where the Dutchman wanted to go, which will have led Newcastle to evaluate alternatives for a while.
As for Tottenham, Antonio Conte was also on the lookout for a new defender, eventually settling for Clément Lenglet on loan, but it appears Ibañez was also considered, as per Roma Giallorossa.
The website, looking at the Brazilian’s rise, recall that following AS Roma’s decision to trigger a clause in the player’s contract to extend his deal until 2026 and place an €80m release clause on him, Spurs and Newcastle came knocking.
They did this following advice from Mourinho, who allegedly had ‘the knowledge that interest would come from the Premier League’.
Roma Giallorossa point out ‘he was not wrong’, because ‘Newcastle and Tottenham made more than one enquiry’.
However, the €80m release clause ‘drove them away’, which was the point of creating it in the first place.
