Tottenham were reportedly prepared to make an offer worth €60m in an attempt to prise Nicolo Zaniolo away from Roma this summer.
The 21-year-old has emerged as one of the top talents in Italy over the past two years as he has bagged 14 goals in 69 appearances for Roma while also coming back from a serious injury last season.
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With five caps for Italy to his name already too, he has a big future ahead of him for club and country and it appears as though his form and impact hasn’t gone unnoticed outside of Italy.
As noted by Calciomercato, via Corriere dello Sport, Juventus were also keen on him, but Tottenham were ready to make a bid worth €50m plus €10m in bonuses to try and prise him away from the Giallorossi, with Jose Mourinho seemingly particularly interested in adding the Italian international to his squad in north London.
However, it’s noted that Roma consider Zaniolo as not for sale and so the bid was snubbed, while it’s suggested that they hope he will sign a contract extension until 2025 to put an end to speculation over his future.
Time will tell if Zaniolo is prioritising an extended stay at the Stadio Olimpico or not, but based on this report, it’s going to take a monstrous offer from any interested party to convince Roma to part company with one of their top assets.
As for Tottenham, they’ve already signed Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer, but Mourinho is perhaps still hoping to strengthen his midfield further and so it remains to be seen which alternatives are targeted if Zaniolo is no longer a possibility.
How about we stop chasing ghost and Sign a center forward. Also, part of problem is we cannot look in England to find a good creative midfielder. Sad state in the premiership and English football