Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Massive Tottenham transfer lift as Serie A star ‘dreams’ of joining Conte despite two rival offers

Rafael Leao and Nicolo Zaniolo

Tottenham have been handed a major boost as reports in Italy claim Nicolo Zaniolo would love to play for them, amid proposals from Bournemouth and AC Milan.

Zaniolo appears set to leave Roma this year, and his exit could even go through before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. His Roma contract expires in summer 2024 and he is unlikely to renew, so it makes sense for the Serie A outfit to let him go now so they can bring in some extra transfer funds.

Tottenham have generally been viewed as the winger’s most likely next destination, in terms of the Premier League at least.

Tottenham chiefs began discussions with Roma over Zaniolo’s prospective move recently. However, they have yet to match his valuation.

Roma want between £31-35m for the Italy international, who has won 11 caps for his country so far. But Spurs have only offered a loan with an obligation to buy so far. And the obligation is worth between £17.5m-22m, resulting in it being swiftly rejected by Roma.

Spurs’ reluctance to meet Roma’s demands has seen other clubs get in the mix. AC Milan hope to snare Zaniolo first and are in negotiations of their own. The one saving grace for Spurs is that Milan are also refusing to pay £31m for the wide man.

Recently, it emerged that Zaniolo could join a rival Premier League team, instead of Spurs. Fabrizio Romano revealed that Bournemouth were considering a £26.4m proposal to take Zaniolo to the Vitality Stadium.

This would have made him their record signing, eclipsing the £25m spent on Jefferson Lerma in August 2018.

Tottenham target wants move to ‘top club’

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport have now given an update on Zaniolo’s thinking. He is poised to reject Bournemouth as he hopes to join a ‘top club’ when departing Roma.

The attacker’s preferred destination remains Spurs. He even ‘dreams’ about playing under Antonio Conte at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But as Spurs are refusing to budge over his transfer fee, he is gradually getting used to the fact that such a transfer is unlikely.

Instead, he is now hoping that a Milan move will go ahead. They must now do what Spurs are unhappy to do and up their bid to strike an agreement with Roma.

Zaniolo ‘dreaming’ of playing for Spurs is clearly great news for everyone involved with the club. It means they would easily be able to sort out a contract with him if they agreed a deal with Roma.

But the stubbornness of chairman Daniel Levy is holding them back. Zaniolo is now edging towards a Milan transfer, simply because Levy will not pay up.

Spurs chiefs do have other irons in the fire, meaning their fans can still get excited about other potential signings. They are closing in on the capture of Sporting Lisbon right-back Pedro Porro.

And Romano has now detailed how long Porro’s new contract at Spurs will last.