Tottenham have taken a massive step to signing Nicolo Zaniolo, as he is apparently ‘ready to say goodbye’ to Roma and has ‘given his ok’ to the move.
Tottenham’s interest in Zaniolo is one that has been ongoing for some time. In the summer, Conte seemed fixated on the attacker, after also being interested in his first window at the club.
Only one attacking signing was made in the summer – Richarlison. The former Everton man has not had the greatest of impacts so far, scoring two goals and assisting three in 17 games.
As such, it’s no surprise that Conte is still on the lookout for attacking talent. Given he has had an interest in Zaniolo for some time, there is no surprise that interest in him has been retained, too.
Tottenham have not struggled in front of goal this season. Only the top two – Arsenal and Manchester City – have scored more than their 39 Premier League goals.
However, Harry Kane has scored 15 of those, and has not had much support. There is a massive drop to the next highest goalscorer – Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur and Heung-min Son each have four league goals.
The latter would have been expected to have been much more prolific, given he won last season’s golden boot. With that being said, the signing of Zaniolo could help bring more attacking threat to the side.
Indeed, he was prolific last season, especially in the triumphant Europa Conference League campaign – scoring five goals and assisting three in 10 games.
His signing would also give an option other than Son, as he is not playing close to the level he is capable of.
Zaniolo ‘ready to say goodbye’ and join Spurs
Talks over a new contract between Zaniolo and Roma could have hindered things. Indeed, his contract is up in 2024, and it would be expected that the club would want him to renew.
However, a recent report stated that is not the case, and talks are ‘completely off’. As such, Tottenham seem to have a fairly simple route to the transfer.
That might have been made even easier by Zaniolo. A report from SportMediaset suggests he and Roma are ‘ready to say goodbye’ and he has ‘given his ok’ to the move.
That is reportedly reinforced by his decision to sit out the next game, essentially attempting to force through a move in this window.
Transfer details must be ironed out
The details of the transfer are yet to be ironed out. Recent reports have stated Tottenham asked to take Zaniolo on loan, which Roma would agree to, if an obligation to buy worth £35million was put in place.
The fresh report reinforces Tottenham’s ideal course of action being a loan with an obligation to buy.
However, it states they do not want to go past €20million (approx £17.5million) if they are to sign Zaniolo permanently, and with a condition, such as if they qualify for the Champions League.
Roma, on the other hand, reportedly want the obligation to be easier to trigger, so they can make sure they receive a fee for their attacker.
As such, it does not seem to be an entirely straightforward transfer to be done. However, Roma will want to get rid soon, or Zaniolo’s price will dwindle along with his contract.
As such, it seems Tottenham are in the best place to negotiate at the moment.