The Roma ace is a reported transfer target for Tottenham Hotspur.
Roma director Gianluca Petrachi insisted that Nicolo Zaniolo is not on the transfer market, when speaking to reporters yesterday, in what will undoubtedly be a real blow for Tottenham.
Spurs have reportedly been tracking the 20-year-old over the past few weeks, with Calcio Mercato claiming that they have already made a £36 million plus Toby Alderweireld offer for the midfielder.
Considering the fact that the Belgian has a £25 million release clause, Tottenham allegedly seem to be prepared to offer in excess of £60 million for the Italian, so they clearly value him highly as a footballer.
It seems as though Spurs could miss out on one of their key targets this summer, however.
When speaking to reporters yesterday, Roma director Gianluca Petrachi insisted that Zaniolo is not for sale this summer, as quoted by Football-Italia.net:
“I have to work to get the best out of Zaniolo and my job isn’t just buying and selling players, as I have direct contact with the squad. I see them every day and consider them to be teammates. I never put Zaniolo on the market. I can’t rule anything out either, because nobody thought Juventus would sell Zinedine Zidane and yet they did. What I can say is that today Zaniolo is not on the market.”
Tottenham do, of course, have plenty of other targets, but missing out on the Roma star will still be a real blow.
Petrachi’s comments should not be taken at face value, however. If Spurs make a substantial offer for Zaniolo this summer, it will be interesting to see whether the Serie A side’s stance changes.
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