Nicolo Zaniolo was linked to Tottenham but is staying at Roma.
Nicolo Zaniolo’s agent says the midfielder was never for sale despite links to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
The Mirror claimed in July that Tottenham were keen to sign Zaniolo and considering a £40 million offer.
Zaniolo ended up renewing his contract with Roma last month.
Zaniolo’s agent Claudio Vigorelli has told TMW that a departure from Roma was never particularly likely, such was the club’s desire to keep the Italy international.
He said: “There have never been tensions. Roma wanted to make Nicolò feel important, for which now the difficult comes because he knows that he must do even more seriously. There have been appreciations from many sides, but Roma has never wanted to sell Zaniolo.”
Playing both sides
This is not the first time Vigorelli has spoken publicly about his client.
He told the Daily Mail last month that Tottenham did make an approach.
He said: “He renewed with Roma and is fine at Roma but obviously we enjoyed the great interest of Tottenham, who were the runners up in the Champions League.
“Their concrete interest in him shows how good the boy’s season was. Spurs thought a lot about Nicolo before taking Lo Celso.”
It’s unclear whether Spurs opted for Lo Celso because they outright wanted him instead, or felt Zaniolo was just too difficult to sign given Roma’s desire to keep him.
Or was there any truth to Tottenham’s interest at all? Was it just the concoction of an agent trying to drum up interest in his client to secure a new deal?
If that’s the case, Zaniolo and Roma are happy, and Tottenham are in good place too, landing Lo Celso anyway.
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