Several Tottenham Hotspur players encouraged AS Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo make the move to the north Londoners when the two clubs faced off against each other in the friendly in Israel, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The pre-season fixture took place last Saturday with Roma beating Tottenham by a 1-0 scoreline. However, it looks like some players in the Tottenham squad have used that opportunity to try and convince Zaniolo, who has been linked with a move to N17, about the prospect of playing under Antonio Conte.
The Spurs head coach is said to be an admirer of the Italian international with the club currently searching the market for a creative outlet (Evening Standard).
The Giallorossi are willing to entertain approaches for Zaniolo if their valuation of £41.8million is matched by any of the interested parties, while Juventus have also been mooted to be a potential destination for the 23-year-old, but have not been able to find common ground with Roma, just like Tottenham.
Our View
Signing Zaniolo appears to be the most feasible option that lies in front of us at this moment. After all, alternative targets like Leicester City’s James Maddison would cost more, with his value being around £60million (Football Insider). Olympique Lyonnais’ Lucas Paqueta is rated at £55million (Ben Jacobs), which is still expensive compared to Zaniolo’s asking price.
Roma’s Nicola Zalewski is another potential target, but he is valued in the region of £42-£50million (Corriere Dello Sport), which is still more than Zaniolo. Zalewski is also an unfinished product, so making such a massive investment could prove to be risky, especially when we need someone who can guarantee instant impact.
That being said, it looks like we are assessing the possibility of adding players in a deal for Zaniolo. Loan moves for Japhet Tanganga and Tanguy Ndombele are on the cards, while Giovani Lo Celso is also an option that could be used to reduce the price tag for the Giallorossi ace.
However, Mourinho’s team would only listen to exchange deals if they could part ways with their fringe midfielders like Jordan Veretout, for example. Fortunately for us, Veretout looks in line to join Marseille (Foot Mercato), giving us more ways to get the best out of this deal for Zaniolo.
After all, reducing the expenses to complete a move for Zaniolo using a swap deal would be in our best interest, especially after the six signings we have made in this transfer window. Signing him on a low fee, coupled with the departures of Ndombele or Lo Celso, would be the ideal outcome, considering how the latter duo is no longer in Conte’s plans for the future (Daily Mail).
