The reigning Serie A champions were heavily linked with a move for the 23-year-old in the January window after they lost Simon Kjaer to a season-ending injury. However, Antonio Conte did not want to weaken his Champions League-chasing squad at that time.
As it turned out Tanganga suffered an injury of his own in January that ruled him out of the second half of the campaign.
Prior to that the centre-back, who can also play at full-back, had made 19 appearances.
But he is now back to fitness and in pre-season training with Tottenham ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Tanganga‘s hopes of regular game time at Spurs look limited again, however. Indeed, Spurs are close to a deal for Barcelona’s Clement Lenglet, while they are also chasing Middlesbrough’s Djed Spence.
If, as expected, Lenglet and Spence arrive, there is every chance that Tanganga will be loaned out.
He would also follow a similar path to compatriot Fikayo Tomori. The England man joined Milan on loan from Chelsea before completing a permanent switch.
The report from Gianluca Di Marzio on Sky (via MilanNews), adds that Rossoneri directors Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara want a young defender on board to bolster their squad.
That is where Tanganga fits the bill, with his versatility also a major draw.
Much will now depend on whether Tanganga goes on the club’s pre-season tour of South Korea this month.
It’s expected that those who aren’t involved are unlikely to have a place in Conte’s squad going forward.
Winger Steven Bergwijn has already been shown the door, having joined Ajax in a £26.4m deal.
Tanganga needs a regular run of games
Japhet Tanganga is an excellent prospect for Tottenham but needs a run of regular first-team football at his age.
When he burst onto the scene playing at right-back against Liverpool in January 2020, he was rightly lauded for his outstanding defensive qualities but things have not gone to plan since then.
Injuries have struck hard, while Tanganga has also suffered for being too versatile.
He needs to nail down one position and stick to it, for the sake of his development.
The player himself admitted in 2021 that he prefers to play centrally. However, that position is a tough one to crack at Tottenham, with Cristian Romero, Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez and in all likelihood Lenglet all pushing for starts.
To that end, maybe a switch to Italy and playing in what has always been considered a more defensive league is the way forward, for now.