OPINION
West Ham will be fuming if Tottenham scupper their chances of signing Joao Mario this summer.
That is now a very real possibility as Spurs face the growing prospect of selling midfield dynamo Mousa Dembele amid strong interest from Inter Milan.
Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport claim midfielder Mario could be offered by Inter in part-exchange to sweeten the deal for Dembele, who is valued at £26.2million by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
Inter certainly appear keen to push through a deal and their sporting director Piero Ausilio will scout him during Belgium’s friendly clash against Egypt on Wednesday night.
The problem for West Ham, as recently reported by the Evening Standard, is they are keen to take Mario for a second consecutive season on loan.
Many Hammers initially wondered what the fuss was about with a player who Inter Milan paid £38.6m for in the summer of 2016.
But by the end of the season, the Hammers faithful were won over by Super Mario, whose phenomenal work rate blew away ex-boss David Moyes, while his quality on the ball was such he was used almost predominantly in an attacking midfield role alongside Manuel Lanzini and behind spearhead Marko Arnautovic.
The possibility of Tottenham blocking a second loan is the stuff of nightmares for West Ham, led by their transfer negotiator David Sullivan.
Spurs are in pole position to kill an Irons transfer dream.
