Transfer News: Inter Milan, Napoli interested in Japhet Tanganga

Serie A giants Inter Milan and Napoli are reportedly keeping tabs on Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga.

According to SportItalia journalist Gianluigi Longari, Serie A heavyweights Inter Milan and SSC Napoli are keen on signing Tottenham Hotspur star Japhet Tanganga in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Both Serie A clubs are coming off a frustrating 2021/22 season that saw them throw away advantages in the race for the Serie A title several times. AC Milan took advantage of their failures and will continue to be a formidable force in the years to come.

One of the players on the radar of both Inter and Napoli is Tanganga. The youngster came through the ranks at Tottenham before making his mark int the first-team under Jose Mourinho. That initial promise has largely been hampered by injuries, and he has now been relegated to a backup role.

The 23-year-old clocked just 1376 minutes across 19 games all season. Antonio Conte looks set to persist with his 3-5-2 formation that has become a trademark of sorts. With Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies all ahead of him in the pecking order, it is difficult to see Tanganga given enough opportunities to impress at Tottenham.

Apprezzato in #serieA il profilo di #Tanganga del #Tottenham. Tante richieste di informazioni per il difensore classe 99 che a gennaio piaceva al Milan. Anche Inter e Napoli hanno sondato il terreno, al momento senza approfondire.

— Gianluigi Longari (@Glongari) June 6, 2022

To add to the woes, Tottenham appear keen to bring in another defender this summer. One of the players touted is Inter ace Alessandro Bastoni. The Italian would be a significant addition to Spurs’ backline and could potentially even play a role in Tanganga’s future. Whether Inter will seek to replace Bastoni with Tanganga or attempt to make him a part of any potential transfer discussions is debatable.

Capable of functioning both as a centre-back and as a right-back, the 23-year-old is versatile enough to be considered an option for several teams. Inter already have both Denzel Dumfries and Matteo Darmian in the ranks. Any move to the Giuseppe Meazza is likely to see Tanganga getting deployed in central defence.

The same can be said of Napoli, who also have enough options both at centre-back and right-back. But Juan Jesus and Kalidou Koulibaly are not getting any younger, and Tanganga could be seen as a backup in the long run. It, however, remains difficult to imagine that he would garner more first-team minutes at either Ligue 1 club.

It is a pivotal summer for Tanganga, who is old enough to be playing regularly. The path at Tottenham will be difficult, and so far, Conte has not shown any particular partiality to suggest that the 23-year-old is a part of his plans. Tottenham’s interest in Djed Spence also suggests a lack of faith in Tanganga’s ability as a wing-back.

As things stand, both Inter Milan and Napoli are yet to make any concrete moves to land Tanganga. Whether they will ramp up their efforts or seek other players remains to be seen.