Tottenham Hotspur target £40m deal for Nicolo Zaniolo

Tottenham are pursuing a deal to sign Nicolo Zaniolo and hope to land the AS Roma attacker for £40m this summer, according to Ben Jacobs.

Antonio Conte has already brought in six new signings over the past few weeks with Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic, Djed Spence and Fraser Forster all arriving.

However, the Italian tactician is still in the market for further reinforcements and another attacking midfielder is seemingly on the agenda to replace Giovani Lo Celso – who’s expected to leave this summer.

Zaniolo has emerged as a prime target with various reports recently suggesting that Tottenham are targeting a move for the Italian international.

Ben Jacobs has provided regular updates on their interest and the CBS Sports journalist now claims that Tottenham are ‘very much’ pursuing a deal to sign Zaniolo this summer.

Jacobs says the 23-year-old is open to the idea of joining Spurs but the North Londoners are hoping to agree a deal at around £40m as they believe Roma’s £50m asking price is too high.

Zaniolo has huge potential but his form was inconsistent last season so Tottenham aren’t willing to pay over the odds. Jacobs says further talks are due to take place next week but Spurs aren’t in a rush as they are focussing on outgoings right now.

Sales first

So it appears Conte needs to offload some of his unwanted players to help make room for more new arrivals, which means any formal move for Zaniolo may have to wait until later in the month.

However, the Italian would be another exciting addition to Conte’s squad if Spurs do end up buying him this summer. He’s developed into one of the most highly-rated young attackers in Serie A since joining Roma from Inter Milan in 2018.

Zaniolo is able to play in a variety of positions in midfield and attack, so he’d give Conte plenty of options, and he has the potential to develop even further under the Italian coach in London.

He has just two years left on his contract at the Stadio Olympico and is no closer to signing an extension, so Roma may be prepared to cash-in while they can still command a sizeable fee.

But any potential move to Tottenham will depend on them selling players, and Conte may look to offload the likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso in order to raise the necessary funds for Zaniolo.