Tottenham Hotspur have been heavily linked with a move for the Roma attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old is reportedly valued at €50 million and he has caught the attention of Spurs manager Antonio Conte.
However, Lyall Thomas from Sky Sports claims that Spurs are currently focused on outgoings and Roma are unwilling to sell the talented playmaker this summer.
The journalist however adds that Tottenham would like to sign another forward before the transfer window closes but they will not sign someone just for the sake of it.
It seems that the Premier League side will only move for a priority target if they are available this summer.
Zaniolo is highly rated in Italian football and he has a massive future ahead of him. Conte will know all about the player having watched him up close during his time in Italy.
It is no secret that Spurs could use some creativity and flair in their midfield and the Roma ace seems like an ideal fit for them.
However, the asking price seems quite prohibitive this summer especially when Spurs have already spent a lot of money on new signings.
The Londoners have already brought in six new players and they are thought to be closing in on Destiny Udogie who would be their seventh summer signing.
It is fair to assume that any move for Zaniolo will have to wait until next summer at the very least.
I know what futsal is. It works well for young kids who struggle to control a ball in the cognitive stage of learning. My surprise is a fella on at least £45k a week is trying it!
All clubs ask for more than a player’s worth, you can’t fault them for that. If ever there is a doubt on worth just look at the Ndom transfer. Who would you rather have?
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That works quite well, actually. The football is simple in comparison. Many youth in South America start with Futsal first for the same reason. Teaches better control. The football then becomes much more manageable in touch.
Haha rocking up on his giga-yaught; getting a great deal I bet.
We need to get Joe Lewis to fly to Rome straight after he’s tied up the Depay deal in Barcelona!! 😂
Anyone else seen the video pop up of Emerson Royal practising his close control with a medicine ball? He must have moved on from a concrete bollard. I wonder when he’ll have a go with a football!
I think Spurs will take a massive shot at getting Torres this window, with the thought in mind of replacing Sanchez with Udogie next summer.
LWB – Sessegnon, Perisic, Doherty
LW – Son, Perisic, Richarlison, Moura
Striker – Kane, Richarlison, Son, Kulusevski
RW – Kulusevski, Richarlison, Moura
RWB – Emerson, Doherty, Moura, Perisic
I just can’t see them signing anyone else into any of those 5 positions.
Spend lots of money on a CAM, and suddenly Spurs spent gold only to lose one of Son or Kulu as a starter. That makes very little sense, either.
If Spurs occasionally want a CAM, start Kane there with two of Son, Kulu, Richarlison in front of him. Kane is capable of being one of the best in the world at it.
I just can’t see Spurs going for an expensive CAM this window. I could always be wrong, but spending high on a CAM objectively makes no sense, at least to me.
However, Spurs are still thin at the back 3. They should and probably will sign another quality back in this window, at the very least on loan (for this season, not as a buy-for-the-future-loan-back-now deal.)
Paqueta and Skriniar please
From the Soton match, it appears Conte is trying to pull more opportunities from better wingback play rather than bothering with any CAM option. Perhaps in January if determined to be necessary.
I do not see any more wingers or wingbacks coming in either. Spurs have 5 backup players who can cover a multitude of those spots.
Spurs really should sign one more high quality defensive back as highest priority for this summer. Not enough cover there.
He pulled no punches. Started and played Zaniolo for 90 minutes in the friendly. That was a clear message that Zaniolo was not going anywhere. Any journos writing about it after that were hacking at straws.
AGREE, another high quality defender needed now, this season. That is the biggest remaining need.
TBF he got his chain well and truly pulled before the Carabao Cup Final so I think he’s entitled to a bit of sh*thousery.
Having watched his “highlights” , not exactly sure of Zaniolo’s strengths .
Likes to dribble , loses possession an awful lot , dont think in Kulu’s class .
However Destiny [ please let him be ours ] is in the Patrice Evra envelope , very difficult to look at him and not be impressed . Very young , very energetic , Very Spurs !!!!!!!!!!
Must say, there is a case for another defensive signing if Tanganga goes to Italy. I guess he won’t be going, if there is no-one coming in, as there are only 6 defenders in the squad right now…this sounds to me like a typical ‘house buying chain’ situation….
Jose pulling our chain …
So we need a creative CAM, maybe another winger and another CB. We already have under contract Gio Tanguy and Regy. Why not try again to get some use from these guys rather than give them away and overpay for Zaniolo or whomever?
Roma are asking more money than he’s worth.
It’s probably not meant to be.
In the same way as we missed put on Diaz & got Kulu [the more productive player so far].
The transfer is only prohibitive if Spurs can’t move on any other players. We easily have £50m of dead wood to fund the move, it is just a case of moving it on like Bergwijn (Easier said than done I know). Chelsea have taken a £20m loss on Werner so if Spurs have to take a big loss on what they paid out on Sanchez, Lo Celso and Ndom in particular so be it. In the long term this will make us stronger.