Tottenham Hotspur are still pursuing a deal for AS Roma and Italy attacker Nicolò Zaniolo.
That is according to Dean Jones, who was speaking to GiveMeSport about Spurs’ potential transfer business heading into the final few weeks of the window.
According to 90min, Antonio Conte’s side are still continuing to negotiate with the Serie A club for the transfer of Zaniolo, who would cost the Premier League side in excess of £42m this summer.
Sky Sports Italy reporter Angelo Mangiante suggested earlier in the summer that Fabio Paratici had met Roma general manager Tiago Pinto for talks about a move for the 23-year-old.
Zaniolo would add to Spurs’ raft of signings this window, with Conte putting his mark on the side this summer as he also closes in on Udinese youngster Destiny Udogie.
And Jones believes that the club are still “making enquiries” about the versatile attacker, though he is unconvinced that Conte sees Zaniolo as a wing-back in a five-at-the-back system.
He said: “It is interesting because they are still making enquiries about Zaniolo.
“But it will be interesting to see if that right wing-back slot is actually what they have in mind, because I’m not convinced it will be.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
Despite Jones being unconvinced about the pursuit of Zaniolo in a wing-back sense, we believe that Tottenham fans will be delighted to hear that they are still linked with the nine-time Italy international.
The versatile attacker is capable of playing behind the striker, on the right wing, or as a centre-forward, as shown by his average positions for last season on Transfermarkt. Zaniolo scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 42 appearances last season, with the star’s final goal of the campaign helping Roma to win the inaugural Europa Conference League.
We think that overall, Zaniolo would be an extremely positive addition at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, and would be worth the gamble for Paratici and Daniel Levy at just over £42m.