Report: Tottenham free to sign 'dazzling' international in January for half what Emerson Royal cost

By Lee Connor

Tottenham Hotspur are free to sign Ukrainian midfielder, Ruslan Malinovskyi, during the January transfer window if they wish.

According to a report from Calciomercato, Atalanta are open to selling Malinovskyi for a bargain fee of between £12-13m. That money, of course, is around half what Spurs paid for the less than impressive Emerson Royal back in 2021.

Spurs’ interest in Malinovskyi has been well-document for some time now. But with January right around the corner and the World Cup finishing this weekend, transfer talk is ramping up once more.

Lauded as a ‘dazzling‘ midfield player, Malinovskyi has been identified by Spurs and Antonio Conte as a player who can add goals from midfield. At the moment, the current pairing of Rodrigo Bentancur and Pierre Hojbjerg do a good job.

But despite a flurry of goals from Bentancur before the break, there is an acceptance at the club that more can be brought to the table from the midfield area.

Today’s report on Malinovskyi builds on information last month. That info suggested Spurs were leading the race for the Ukrainian.

Tottenham are among the English clubs expected to strengthen in January. Despite some inconsistent performances, Spurs remain very much in the title race and more importantly, the top four hunt.

TBR’s View: Malinovskyi offers new options for Tottenham

The best teams have deep squads and options off the bench. At the moment, you do feel Tottenham don’t quite have that depth to really challenge.

However, in signing someone like Malinovskyi, it does give them that added threat. And at less than £15m, he does like being a bargain buy as well in what can be a difficult window to navigate.

January feels like a big one for Spurs. If they can add a few faces with the right quality, then the top four should be gettable. Malinovskyi, then, would be a good start.