Marcelo Brozovic rejected the chance to link up with Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window.

What's the talk?

In a recent appearance on Telelombardia (via Sport Witness), Italian journalist Fabrizio Biasin revealed that, prior to the 29-year-old midfielder putting pen to paper a new four-year deal with Inter Milan, all three of Tottenham, Newcastle United and Barcelona made contact with the Croatia international regarding a potential summer switch.

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Concerning Spurs' interest in Brozovic, Biasin said: "I can say that they tried for Brozovic. Tottenham made an attempt, but Brozovic, a man of his word, said he wanted to stay and he did it by signing the renewal. He had [offers from] Newcastle, Barcelona and Tottenham, and he stayed. Barcelona had offered him €8m [£6.5m] per season."

Conte will be fuming

With it being reported that Antonio Conte was extremely interested in securing a reunion with his former Inter midfielder in north London, the news that Brozovic rejected Tottenham in favour of remaining at the San Siro is sure to have left the 52-year-old fuming.

Indeed, it is easy to see why the Italian was keen on a move for the 29-year-old, as Brozovic was a hugely important part of Conte's title-winning Inter team last season.

Over his 33 Serie A appearances in 2020/21, the £41.5m-rated Croatian was in sensational form for the Nerazzurri, scoring two goals, registering six assists and creating nine big chances for his team-mates, along with making 1.4 key passes and taking 0.8 shots per game.

The €6m-per-year - roughly £96k-per-week - central midfielder also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making 59.7 passes, 1.2 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and 4.3 long balls and winning three duels per match.

These returns saw the player who Gianfranco Matteoli dubbed "irreplaceable" average an extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.28, ranking him not only as Conte's second-best performer in Serie A but also the 14th-best player in the entire league last season.

As such, it is clear to see that Brozovic would have made a fantastic addition to Spurs' current options in the middle of the park this summer, while it is also evident why Conte will be raging at missing out on the 29-year-old's signature, especially as he wouldn't have cost the club a penny in transfer fees.

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