Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur are preparing an offer for Ruslan Malinovskyi with Atalanta ready to sell the Serie A playmaker for around £15 million during the January transfer window, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
It seems that, with regards to a certain Ukraine international, Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici are in agreement.
Tottenham’s managing director, Tuttomercatoweb claims, shares Conte’s view that Malinovksyi would be something of a ‘perfect’ January addition for a Spurs side perilously over-reliant upon the fitness and form of a few star attackers.
Tottenham Hotspur preparing an offer for Atalanta ace Ruslan Malinovskyi
Malinovskyi, a left-footed, right-sided attacking midfielder in the Dejan Kulusevski mould, has fallen out of favour at an Atalanta side in transition. 42 goals and 45 assists across four campaigns is proof of how potent a creative force he can be; Malinovskyi’s cannon-like left-foot making many a Serie A shot-stopper wake up in cold sweats.
The former Genk star held face-to-face talks with Conte over the summer. Tottenham walked away from the table after being quoted a fee in the region of around £43 million. Atalanta will have little no choice but to accept reduced terms in January, however. Malinovskyi, after all, will be a free-agent in a matter of months.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, a bid of £15 million could be enough this time around. Tottenham are readying an offer, one that should be submitted during the next few weeks. They have already informed Atalanta president Antonio Percassi of their desire to reunite Cristian Romero with his former La Dea team-mate to North London (Calciomercato).
“Tottenham wanted a midfielder (in the summer),” Fabrizio Romano tells the House of Champions podcast. “They wanted Malinovskyi from Atalanta. And he remains a player (still) appreciated by Tottenham.”
The ‘perfect’ January signing?
West Ham and Nottingham Forest are also keen, though Malinovskyi’s preference appears to be Tottenham as things stand. Forest’s rather ambitious, lowball £12 million offer fell well short of Atalanta’s demands before September’s transfer deadline.
Tottenham are also reportedly keeping tabs on Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus. The free-scoring Ghanian was on the verge of joining Premier League rivals Everton just a few months ago.
“I was really close to joining Everton,” Kudus explains. “I thought it was a good project for me and I felt I should try it. It wasn’t like this season was my first (at Ajax), it was my third. So if I’m not getting the progress I’m looking for then why not try something else?”
“I spoke to Lampard. I had a chat with him to find out the project they had for me, what he thought about me and how he saw me as a player, because definitely that would be the green light for me to decide whether I wanted to move.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
