Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is reportedly pressuring Fabio Paratici to sign Nicolo Zaniolo, but the north London club has yet to make Roma an irresistible offer.
Tottenham has so far backed Conte during the transfer window and having signed 7 players already, the club is currently looking to offload the players that are surplus to requirement. The Spurs manager has made it clear that if any of the players leave, they must be replaced.
Zaniolo has been on Tottenham’s radar all summer but the club has yet to make Roma an acceptable offer. However, in a sudden turn of events, Nicolo Zaniolo, despite months of talks with Tottenham, may now stay at AS Roma this summer, bringing the summer-long saga to a close.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Zaniolo is close to staying with Roma for the season, with the player’s entourage even scheduling talks with the Giallorossi about potentially renewing the midfielder’s contract, an update that could be devastating to Tottenham’s chances of signing the 23-year-old.
Antonio Conte is said to be a big fan of the midfielder, and this summer has seen Tottenham embark on months of talks with Roma about potentially signing the Italian international, with a £46m bid reportedly made in recent weeks, but the youngster now looks set to stay with Jose Mourinho’s side.
Following the arrivals of Dybala, Nemanja Matic, and Georginio Wijnaldum, Roma have had an impressive transfer window, and with the ‘extraordinay’ Zaniolo now likely to stay, Mourinho’s new-look Giallorossi squad has a real chance of challenging for the title this season.
Mourinho has already won the UEFA Europa Conference League with Roma last season, and this year, Mourinho can go one step further by winning the Scudetto, which the historic Serie A side has not won since 2001.
Spurs’ interest has not waned though, and according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.com (via Inside Futbol), Conte is ‘putting a lot of pressure’ on Paratici to sign Zaniolo.
While there is still time for Tottenham to make another move for Zaniolo this summer, this latest development appears could put an end to the north London club’s hopes of bringing in the versatile midfielder, while the youngster remaining at the Stadio Olimpico is a ‘season-changing’ event for Roma.