Tottenham Hotspur will reportedly have to fork out €40 million to secure the services of AS Roma playmaker Nicolo Zaniolo.
According to Calciomercato.it, Nicolo Zaniolo is facing an uncertain future at AS Roma. In recent weeks, there has been a little tension between the 22-year-old Italian international and coach Jose Mourinho, with the player falling down the pecking order at Stadio Olimpico.
It has resulted in speculations surrounding Zaniolo’s future, especially with Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus in contention to snap him up whenever the opportunity arises. At the moment, Roma are yet to decide on the future of their playmaker, but they value him at around €40 million.
Formerly of Inter, Zaniolo is regarded as one of the most gifted talents in Italian. He made his professional breakthrough during the 2018/19 campaign, impressing the onlookers with his technical qualities. He performed well in the following season, too, but his progress soon got halted due to an ACL injury in 2019 that kept him out for almost six months.
Zaniolo was unfortunate enough to aggravate the injury soon after returning to full fitness. It kept the 22-year-old out for a further nine months, resulting in him missing the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign.
However, the Italian international has featured for Roma in the new season, even making 11 league appearances. But with just one assist, the playmaker has endured a rough treatment by Mourinho, who has frozen him out of the team in the past couple of matches. He was not even utilised in the recent win over Genoa.
Zaniolo’s recent spat with Mourinho could lead to a possible departure from Roma. The player has been linked with a move to Tottenham in the past, and the north London giants could be in contention once again, especially after the arrival of Antonio Conte.
The former Inter Milan head coach has an excellent knowledge of Italian football and will be aware of Zaniolo’s talent. However, it remains to be seen whether Tottenham opt to fork out as much as €40 million for a player who has struggled with injuries for the most part of his career so far.
If the deal were to occur, it would not be surprising to see Spurs trying to sanction a potential swap deal between Zaniolo and Tanguy Ndombele, considering the Frenchman was wanted by Mourinho earlier in the season. Alternatively, the Lilywhites could simply move on to other, more reliable targets, having recently entered the race to sign Jesse Lingard in the upcoming January transfer window.
