Report: ‘Extraordinary’ contract rebel now increasingly close to signing for Tottenham

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Tottenham Hotspur want Ruslan Malinovskyi and a move to North London is considered to be moving closer ahead of the January window.

Atalanta faced Eintracht Frankfurt in a friendly on Friday, drawing 2-2 before a 7-5 defeat for the Italian side on penalties.

Calciomercato note that playmaker Malinovskyi really struggled and Atalanta seem a little worried.

It’s suggested that president Antonio Percassi will now struggle to get his money back on Malinovskyi.

Still, a January move to Tottenham Hotspur is ‘increasingly close’ with Marseille now fading away in this race.

Atalanta’s asking price may now be dropping for Malinovskyi with his poor displays seemingly leaving them minded to just get rid.

Tottenham may only see Malinovskyi as short-term fix

We can totally understand Tottenham pushing to sign an attacking midfielder during the January transfer window.

Antonio Conte’s side does lack that attacking threat from midfield that can offer goals and creativity in the final third.

There were summer links to Christian Eriksen but that never materialised whilst Ajax star Mohammed Kudus has been linked.

Malinovskyi has been touted for months now but doesn’t really feel like a long-term answer for Spurs.

The Ukrainian turns 30 in May and his contract with Atalanta expires at the end of the season.

It looks very unlikely that Malinovskyi will sign a new deal even after boss Gian Piero Gasperini hailed him as ‘extraordinary’.

That makes Malinovskyi a potentially cheap solution for Tottenham, which could be ideal given that he would likely be a game-changing option off the bench.

It’s hard to imagine Tottenham going for anything more than an 18-month deal for Malinovskyi though, and there may even be a temptation to take over the final six months of his Atalanta deal whilst presenting the option for a longer contract.

A midfielder with a powerful strike from range, Malinovskyi has shown quality in the past at Atalanta but it’s now time for change – and Tottenham could be his destination.