Serie A giants Roma have been warned about selling Nicolo Zaniolo to Premier League suitors Tottenham Hotspur with former Italy ace Dario Bonetti telling TMW that Jose Mourinho ‘cannot do without him’.
Zaniolo and Spurs; two star-crossed lovers destined to eventually fall into each others arms?
Tottenham have gone through four different managers – five if you include Ryan Mason’s brief interim spell – since the Roma playmaker was first linked with a move to North London back in 2019.
His agent, at the time, told the Daily Mail that Spurs had shown ‘concrete interest’ in Zaniolo, going as far as to compare the all-action Italian to one-time White Hart Lane favourite Paul Gascoigne.
These days, Fabio Paratici is pulling the strings at Spurs. And it just so happens that the club’s managing director is a huge Zaniolo fan. Paratici even admitted, two-and-a-half years ago, that he would jump at the chance to sign the former Inter Milan starlet.
Now could be his chance.
Will Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo finally sign for Tottenham?
Calciomercato reported on Tuesday that Tottenham have continued to keep tabs on Zaniolo. Contract talks between the midfielder and Roma have stalled too, with director Tiago Pinto refusing to rule out a summer departure.
“Nowadays, the player’s will is fundamental. We know that if there is a risk of losing him for free, it is better to sell. And it is difficult to keep a player who wants to leave,” says Bonetti, who won a trio of Coppa Italia titles with Roma in the 1980s.
“But Zaniolo is a very important player. A player with that ability, if he is fit, is essential. And if Roma want to make a plan to win, they cannot do without him.
“He can play anywhere in the middle of the pitch. He’s strong in one against one, he is skilled in front of the goal. He also knows how to express himself in various formations.
“You have to see what aims Roma have. If they want to monetize or if they want to win. In the latter case, they absolutely cannot give Zaniolo away.”
Zaniolo or Kulusevski? Or both?
Tottenham’s pursuit of Zaniolo – who Fabio Capello described as a ‘genius’ recently – may depend on how Dejan Kulusevski, a January loan signing from Juventus, gets on in England.
The silky Swede has a £30 million option-to-buy clause in his contract (TMW).
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