Tottenham Hotspur reportedly remain in the race for Nicolo Zaniolo.
According to Corriere Dello Sport, Tottenham’s offer for Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo is financially better than Juventus’s, but he prefers a move to Turin.
Zaniolo, 20, joined Roma from Inter Milan last summer as part of the deal which took Radja Nainggolan to the San Siro, and the playmaker has starred ever since.
The youngster hit six goals and two assists in his first season with Roma, and his performances have unsurprisingly sparked major interest in his signature.
It’s now believed that Tottenham’s offer to Zaniolo is ‘economically’ better than that of Juventus, but he’s actually more interested in a move to Juventus.
Staying in Italy – especially at such a young age – may be preferable to the playmaker, and a move abroad would be risky given that he has a very real chance of playing at Euro 2020 with Italy next summer.
Either way, Zaniolo isn’t interested in renewing his contract with Roma, and as things stand, it leaves Tottenham in a straight fight with Juventus for his signature.
As a versatile player with height as well as technique, Zaniolo would fit in perfectly with Mauricio Pochettino, as he could fit into a 4-2-3-1 or a midfield diamond, two systems Pochettino played last season.
The Guardian claim that Spurs have explored a part-exchange deal for Zaniolo involving Toby Alderweireld, which may well give them an advantage over Juventus, but Zaniolo may well prefer playing for Maurizio Sarri’s Juve over more money in England.
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