Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Tottenham put exciting Sassuolo ace on transfer shortlist; Brighton also want star after De Zerbi arrival

Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi

Tottenham and Brighton are vying for the services of Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi, according to reports.

Frattesi is a Roma academy graduate who joined Sassuolo in a £4.5million deal back in summer 2017. He had several loan spells away from Sassuolo but is now part of their senior squad.

The 23-year-old has featured in all of the club’s Serie A matches so far this campaign, registering goals against Spezia and Udinese.

Frattesi is putting in some top performances and due to this he is now part of the Italy national team. He has won three caps under Roberto Mancini so far and may feature for them at the World Cup.

Frattesi will have to continue his good form to feature at the tournament though as Mancini has plenty of solid options in midfield. They include Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Sandro Tonali and Marco Verratti, plus others.

Frattesi may end up leaving his homeland shortly after the World Cup. As per Football Italia, who cite Gazzetta dello Sport, English teams will be scouting him over the next few months. They are deciding whether to make a January move for him.

The top two suitors for Frattesi are Tottenham and Brighton. Tottenham have put the midfielder on their transfer shortlist for 2023, just like the Seagulls.

Brighton’s interest comes as little surprise following their recent managerial appointment. They lost Graham Potter to Chelsea and have replaced him with Roberto De Zerbi, who left Sassuolo to take up the role.

De Zerbi could reunite with Davide Frattesi

De Zerbi was at Sassuolo while Frattesi was on their books. He knows how good the Rome-born player is and what his future looks like.

The report from Gazzetta dello Sport is more of a summary of players that could leave Italy for other big leagues, rather than an in-depth look at Frattesi’s future.

As such, it provides little information on how much the star could cost or who are the frontrunners for his signature.

It is more likely Brighton will make a move for him than Spurs. While Frattesi is developing into a top player, Spurs will probably hunt more well-known midfielders next year.

Brighton, in contrast, regularly pick up smaller names and develop them into top Premier League stars before selling them on for a profit. Just look at Marc Cucurella, Ben White and potentially Moises Caicedo in the future.

Another factor to consider is obviously De Zerbi’s appointment. He could push Brighton chiefs to launch a move for Frattesi due to knowing him already. Antonio Conte is less likely to do this, although the Spurs boss does have good contacts in Serie A.

transfermarkt put Frattesi’s value at £18m, while his Sassuolo contract runs for another four years.

This means Brighton would have to pay near to, or maybe all, of his transfer value. But with Caicedo being tipped to leave for a major fee, they should have the funds to do this.

Frattesi is unlikely to join one of the Prem’s Big Six clubs so soon, even though Spurs apparently hold an interest.

Keep an eye out for his name though as he could reach the top level in future, following a spell at a club such as Brighton.

Meanwhile, an agent has revealed Liverpool and Tottenham both failed to convince a player to join from Ajax before his summer transfer elsewhere.