Philippe Coutinho recently sealed a loan move to Aston Villa from Barcelona.
Antonio Conte personally refused the chance to sign Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho for Tottenham Hotspur, according to reports. The ex-Liverpool ace completed a loan move to Aston Villa, where he will reunite with former teammate Steven Gerrard.
Coutinho’s stock has plummeted ever since he completed a seismic £142m move to Barcelona in the 2018 January transfer window.
Xavi’s side were desperate to offload Coutinho from their hefty wage bill so they could register new £55m signing Ferran Torres from Manchester City.
Arsenal, Everton, and Newcastle United were all linked with a move for the Brazilian before Gerrard and co stepped in to coax him over to Villa Park.
However, reports from the Daily Mirror understand Tottenham were in the running for the Brazilian, until Conte stepped in to prevent such a move from happening.
The former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss is yet to complete a new signing for the north Londoners, but he reportedly went out of his way to block a move for Coutinho.
Tottenham have been linked with a multitude of midfielders in the January transfer window, but Coutinho does not appear to be one of those on Conte’s wish-list.
AC Milan box-to-box midfielder Franck Kessie, who has flown out to the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast, appears to be one of Conte’s preferred choices.
His contract at Stefano Pioli’s side is set to expire at the end of the season but reports from Italian outlet Corriere della Sera claimed Tottenham wanted to sign him in the current window by offering Tanguy Ndombele in exchange.
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