Van der Vaart admits Serie A attraction

The midfield ace has been the subject of transfer talk tipping him to depart White Hart Lane this summer after the North London side failed to qualify for the Champions League, despite finishing fourth last season.

Chelsea’s Champions League triumph means Spurs will be forced to ply their trade in the Europa League next year, resulting in a number of the club’s star performers being linked with moves elsewhere.

And Van der Vaart, who has been courted by Schalke 04 as they look to replace Raul, has alerted the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan and AS Roma after revealing the lure of playing in Italy’s top tier is an attractive prospect.

"I would like to play in Italy once. Much has been said about the Serie A not being attractive, but I have a good feeling about it," he told Dutch Playboy magazine.

Van der Vaart, who is currently with the Dutch national squad gearing up for Euro 2012, also confirmed he would like to remain in football when his playing days are over.

He added: "I would like to become a person somewhere between a coach and technical director.

"Helping players, talking to them - just name it. A squad is very big nowadays and because of that players don't always get attention. Sometimes players who are out of favour are treated like garbage."