Jose Mourinho has intervened in Tottenham Hotspur’s attempt to sign Nicolo Zaniolo, according to Italian news outlet Corriere Dello Sport.
The report claims that Tottenham had come to an agreement with AS Roma over a season-long loan deal along with an obligation to make the move permanent for €50million (£42.3million), should certain targets be achieved.
Mourinho is said to have spoken with the Italian international to inform him that Roma have an important season ahead and for the benefit of the team and himself that he must stay in the Italian capital.
Roma are reported to be now only prepared to sanction his departure if an outright bid of £42.3million is made to sign Zaniolo on a permanent basis, something the report claims is not feasible for Tottenham as they look to offload a number of players from Antonio Conte’s squad.
Zaniolo is out of contract at the Europa League champions in the summer of 2024 (tranfermarkt) with Mourinho having encouraged the 23-year-old to sign a new deal in light of the interest from Spurs, with talks set to begin next month to offer him close to what the north Londoners were prepared to pay.
Our View
Mourinho is obviously keen to hold onto Zaniolo, who on his day can be a world beater with his ability on the ball. If the Italian can keep himself fit following two nasty knee injuries, he would be an asset for any team.
Tottenham are still desperately in the need of a creative outlet for their midfield, despite Antonio Conte’s tendency to set up without a flair player operating behind his attackers. There will be times when his side are behind in matches deep into the second half and need to change things in order to get back into the game without relying on Harry Kane to pull the strings.
