Jose Mourinho has waited a while to get his mitts on Nicolo Zaniolo – so you can bet your bottom dollar he’s not going to let the midfielder go in a hurry.
During Mourinho’s ill-fated spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur, a deal to bring Zaniolo to north London was progressing nicely.
The Italy international was keen on the move too, setting his sights on joining a club that also tried to sign him during the final few months of the Mauricio Pochettino era.
But a cruciate ligament rupture, suffered during a Serie A clash between Roma and Juventus in January 2020, not only ended Zaniolo’s season, it also ended any hopes Mourinho had of securing the services of a supremely gifted attacking midfielder who has been labelled the second coming of Spurs legend Paul Gascoigne.
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18 months on, Zaniolo and Mourinho are united at last – albeit at the Stadio Olimpico rather than the English capital.
And although Calciomercato believes this long-running transfer saga still has a few twists and turns left in the locker, it’s hard to imagine Mourinho letting one of his star players leave halfway through his first season back in Italian football.
“The club was cautious with Zaniolo last season and he waited with great maturity,” Mourinho said of a man who has overcome those fitness problems to nail down a starting berth at Roma this season.
“He has now forgotten those problems and has faith in his body.
“Don’t forget, Nicolo is two years older than he was before the injuries so that’s time for a young man to think and mature. I would be a terrible coach if I had nothing to teach a 22-year-old.
“He seems super professional and I had heard about him as quite an immature lad. That’s not what I’ve found working with him.
“I don’t like comparing Zaniolo to players of the past but I can say there are few out there with this amount of potential.”
According to Calciomercato, Tottenham enquired about Zaniolo’s availability this month.
But with Roma set to offer their £43 million playmaker a new contract – complete with a substantial rise on his £40,000-a-week wages – this is a battle Mourinho stands to win.
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