Spurs about to step up bid for 'incredible' £42.5m attacker this week, talks about to start - journalist

By Ben Evans

According to journalist Santi Aouna, Tottenham Hotspur are set to step up discussions with Roma this week over Nicolo Zaniolo.

Spurs have been linked with Zaniolo throughout the transfer window, with previous reports stating Antonio Conte’s side have already had a bid rejected for the Italian.

And now it seems that Tottenham are ready to advance their interest further.

The Foot Mercato writer said: “There are new talks planned this week between Roma and Tottenham for Zaniolo.”

Roma are also said to be eying up replacements for their playmaker, with Andrea Belotti on their wishlist.

Tottenham fans had the chance to take a closer look at Zaniolo over the weekend, as he started for Roma in their 1-0 victory over Conte’s side in Israel.

The 23-year-old has also been linked with Juventus, but Antonio Conte ‘intends, at all costs, to overcome the competition of his former club’ according to CalcioMercatoWeb.

Reports have suggested that Roma value Zaniolo at £42.5m, which would make him Tottenham’s second-most expensive signing of the summer behind Richarlison if he decided to make the move to the north London.

Tottenham in Zaniolo discussions this week

It would be interesting to see where Zaniolo – who was described as ‘incredible’ by former teammate Daniele De Rossi – would fit into Conte’s plans at Spurs.

Tradionally a right-winger, Zaniolo has been moved into a more central role by Jose Mourinho, playing as a second striker alongside Tammy Abraham for much of last season.

Zaniolo played a pivotal role in Roma’s successful Conference League run, scoring the only goal in the final against Feyenoord to help Mourinho complete his set of European trophies.

However, given Harry Kane and Son Heung-min’s roles at Spurs are virtually untouchable at this point, Zaniolo would be competing with Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski for a role in Spurs’ attack.

The price Tottenham would have to pay to secure his services combined with the amount of game time he’d likely get, make this an intriguing transfer for Conte to pursue.

There are also injury concerns surrounding Zaniolo, who has had two serious cruciate ligament injuries in his career already. However, it would be hard for the Spurs hierarchy to deny the Italian coach his wishes, as his squad look well-placed to potentially challenge Manchester City and Liverpool under his leadership.