‘Appreciated by Tottenham’: Romano claims Spurs want ‘dazzling’ midfielder likened to De Bruyne

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Tottenham Hotspur were heavily linked with Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi in the summer.

One report at the time, from Calciomercato, claimed Spurs were leading the race for him at one point.

Fabrizio Romano then reported that Malinovskyi was actually dreaming of joining Tottenham.

“He would love to join Tottenham, so on player side the message is pretty clear,” he said on the Here We Go podcast.

In the end, Malinovskyi stayed put at Atalanta.

But now, it looks as though Spurs remain interested in him ahead of the January transfer window.

Romano told the House of Champions Podcast that Tottenham still like the 28-year-old’s profile.

However, the transfer insider suggested that Spurs would look to offload players before bringing anyone else in.

“Tottenham wanted a midfielder,” said Romano.

“They wanted Malinovskyi from Atalanta and he remains a player appreciated by Tottenham.

“But it is also about selling players.

“In that case it was Bryan Gil to Valencia and Malinovskyi to Tottenham, but Atalanta turned down the loan proposals.

“Let’s see what happens with Malinovskyi as a midfielder.”

Tottenham target Malinovskyi – factfile

Primarily a No. 10, Malinovskyi is an outstanding free-kick taker.

Last season, he registered 10 goals and seven assists in all competitions for the Bergamo outfit.

Since joining Atalanta in 2019, he has made 142 appearances for the Serie A outfit across all competitions.

The “dazzling” midfielder with a “thunderous” left foot has scored 30 goals and provided 28 assists.

Malinovskyi also has considerable experience at international level, having won 51 caps for Ukraine.

Fans on Twitter have compared him to Kevin De Bruyne, Miralem Pjanic and Bruno Fernandes.

Tottenham have good links with Atalanta, having dealt with them over Cristian Romero and Pierluigi Gollini.