Tottenham Linked With Arturo Vidal But Move Would Defy Club's Recent Transfer Policy

Tottenham are reportedly one of four clubs considering a summer move for Arturo Vidal. But a move for the Inter Milan man would defy their transfer policy.

Tottenham are reportedly one of four clubs considering a move for Arturo Vidal in the summer.

The Chilean midfielder's current contract at Inter Milan is set to expire in June, when he would be available on a free transfer.

Spurs, Marseille, Aston Villa and Galatasaray are all monitoring the situation, according to Calciomercato in Italy.

Vidal is a player with a wealth of experience at the top level. He has won domestic league titles with Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter.

He is also a two-time Copa America winner and has represented Chile more than 130 times at senior international level.

A short-term move to Spurs could make sense. After all, Vidal is a player that is trusted by current boss Antonio Conte, who was in charge at Inter when they won Serie A in 2021. Conte also won major titles with Vidal at Juve.

Arturo Vidal celebrates a goal for Juventus with manager Antonio Conte in 2013 :: IMAGO/Gribaudi/ImagePhoto

But such a move would also defy Tottenham's general recent transfer policy of signing and developing younger players.

Not since 2017 have Spurs signed an outfield player over the age of 30 on a permanent transfer.

That was 32-year-old Fernando Llorente, who joined from Swansea City as a back-up striker for fee of £12.1m, as reported by Sky Sports.

Vidal will be 35 in May, so one suspects he would only be given a one-year deal if Spurs were to sign him.

That lack of long-term risk, plus the fact there would be no transfer fee involved, does make the deal more plausible.

In essence it would not be overly dissimilar to the loan deal which brought Gareth Bale, then aged 31, back to Spurs in 2020.