Tottenham Hotspur want Nicolo Zaniolo and his agent is expected to travel to London this week to hold talks over a move to North London.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who offer an update on Zaniolo’s situation at Roma.
They suggest that Zaniolo has interest from Tottenham, West Ham United and Leicester City but has made it clear that he prefers Spurs.
It’s stated that Fabio Paratici actually held new talks with Zaniolo’s agent Claudio Vigorelli on Saturday. Vigorelli is allegedly ready to fly to London this week.
So far though, Tottenham have only offered a loan deal with obligation to buy for €30million (£26.5million) if they qualify for the Champions League.
Roma have said no to that proposal and may want a straight sale rather than allow Zaniolo to leave on loan in the middle of the season.
Who is Tottenham target Nicolo Zaniolo?
Zaniolo, 23, has spells in the ranks of Genoa and Fiorentina before heading to Virtus Entella in 2016.
After just one year and seven appearances there, Zaniolo was snapped up by Inter as a real talent for the future.
Zaniolo was never given his first-team debut at Inter though and was offloaded to Roma after just a year at the San Siro.
Zaniolo was used as part of the deal that saw Roma sell Radja Nainggolan to Inter in 2018 and it looked like Roma had snapped up a gem.
The attacking midfielder racked up 14 goals in his first two seasons for Roma and appeared to have the world at his feet before injuries took over.
Zaniolo suffered not one but two anterior cruciate ligament injuries, missing the whole 2020-21 campaign as a result.
Now back again, Zaniolo has shown flashes of quality with eight goals last season but this term has been tricky, recording just one goal in 13 appearances.
The Italian may now need a fresh start and Tottenham are willing to provide it.
Tottenham need guile in the final third and Zaniolo may well bring that – but agreeing terms with Roma is now the big battle.
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