Roberto Mancini has confirmed his interest in Tottenham Hotspur winger Aaron Lennon, as he looks to improve his attacking options at Internazionale.
Having succeeded Walter Mazzarri in the San Siro dugout back in November, the former Manchester City coach accepts he needs to improve his squad when the window reopens next month. A top-three finish, which would bring a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, is the minimum target for the Nerazzurri, and this is a position they are currently seven points adrift of.
Alessio Cerci, who has yet to start in La Liga for Atletico Madrid following his summer move from Torino, is a target for Mancini. And it also appears as though he could return to England to lure Lennon from White Hart Lane, whilst he has also expressed an interest in taking Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva from Liverpool for whom the 27-year-old has started just five league games this term.
“I have already made the point, we are looking for a winger and preferably two,” Mancini told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We need a player who is strong, very fast, direct, good technically and capable of scoring goals. If we can’t find a player with these qualities then it is better not to buy anyone at all. Cerci, Lennon and Lucas Leiva are all good reference points and not random choices.”
It is believed both Cerci and Lucas would be loan targets for Inter, who may look to take Lennon on a permanent basis. The former Leeds United winger has been at White Hart Lane since the summer of 2005, when the Londoners took advantage of the Yorkshire club’s perilous financial situation to sign the England international star for a bargain fee of just £1million.
The 27-year-old, who has earned 21 caps for his country, has gone on to make over 260 Premier League appearances for Spurs, and helped them to a fourth-place finish in 2009-10, as well as League Cup success in 2008. He remains under contract at his current employers until the end of next season, having been rewarded with a new deal – his fourth since joining – in September 2012.
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