Tottenham in pole position to sign Nicolo Zaniolo

Tottenham are in pole position to sign Nicolo Zaniolo and may even be able to land the Roma attacker in a cut-price player-exchange deal, according to reports via TeamTalk.

Antonio Conte is still in the market for further reinforcements this summer and Zaniolo has emerged as a prime target. TeamTalk suggests that the Spurs manager is desperate to lure his compatriot to north London ‘at all costs’.

The 23-year-old is also being tracked by Juventus but TuttoJuve.com [via the Express] are citing Italian journalist Daniele Miceli as saying that Tottenham are the only club able to meet Roma’s £42m [€50m] asking price.

Jose Mourinho is keen for Zaniolo to remain in Rome but the attacker has just two years left on his contract and extension talks have been put-off until after the transfer window closes, sparking talk he could be on the move.

Tottenham now appear to be in pole position due to their financial strength, and TeamTalk are also citing a report from CalcioMercatoWeb that suggests the Premier League giants could land Zaniolo in a cut-price deal.

The Italian outlet says Roma are keen on Giovani Lo Celso so Spurs could lower the Zaniolo fee by offering the Argentinean in part-exchange. Lo Celso has no future under Conte in London so should be open to a move to the Stadio Olimpico.

Bargain

TeamTalk says Lo Celso is valued at around £17m so Tottenham could end up offering Roma him plus £25m cash in exchange for Zaniolo’s signature this summer.

That would represent an excellent deal all round for Spurs as they’d get an unwanted player off the books and bring in one of Conte’s key targets for a bargain price.

The youngster is able to play in a variety of positions in midfield and attack, so he’d give the Tottenham boss plenty of options, and he has the quality to develop into a top class player if he was a success in the Premier League.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop as player exchange deals are never easy to negotiate. However, Zaniolo would be a terrific addition to Conte’s squad if they could pull it off.