According to Fabrizio Romano, the situation involving Ruslan Malinovskyi and Tottenham “remains open” after Atalanta decided not to sell.
What’s the story?
Well, the Ukraine international has already entered the final 12 months of his contract with the Italian side, and looked set to join Tottenham ahead of Thursday’s 11pm deadline.
Malinovskyi’s wife even followed Antonio Conte on Instagram, and despite the 29-year-old’s desire to join, Spurs did not want to commit to a £20m permanent deal when he would be available for free in 2023.
In our view, that was a sensible decision from Fabio Paratici – Director of Football at Tottenham.
However – if Romano is to be trusted – the situation may not be over yet.
The reliable Italian believes Malinovskyi’s future remains unsettled despite Atalanta’s success in fending off interest in their No.18 this summer.
To us, that suggests Tottenham will have another chance to sign the Ukrainian in 2023, and with Paratici’s contacts in Italian football, Spurs could even reach a pre-contract agreement in January.
So far this season, Malinovskyi has scored one goal and provided one assist in four Serie A appearances.
Tottenham right to wait for Ruslan Malinovskyi
In our view, Daniel Levy and Paratici were right to walk away from the Malinovskyi deal.
If it really is a “dream” for the 29-year-old to join Tottenham, then he will surely be prepared to wait a few more months to realise it, which could end up saving Spurs millions.
The Zhytomyr-born attacking midfielder is a fine footballer – one who has seen his left foot described as a “cannon” – and if Tottenham can reach a free transfer agreement, it would be a brilliant bit of work by Paratici.
It would also be a necessary deal for Tottenham, who are lacking a natural attacking midfielder to play behind Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski.
Keep an eye on Malinovskyi going into 2023, as that could be the year he becomes a Tottenham player.
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