Charlie Eccleshare provides update on Tottenham’s Nicolo Zaniolo interest

The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare has revealed that while Nicolo Zaniolo is on Tottenham’s wishlist, the North London club’s talks with AS Roma regarding the winger are still at a preliminary stage.

Over the last week, there has been plenty of speculation linking Tottenham with a move for Zaniolo, particularly after Roma snapped up Paulo Dybala.

It was reported by CalcioMercatoWeb this week that Tottenham were open to offering Giovani Lo Celso to the Giallorossi as a makeweight in a deal for the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, Quotidiano Nazionale suggested a couple of days ago that Spurs were the favourites to beat Juventus to the Italy international’s signature.

The report claimed that Antonio Conte was pushing the Tottenham hierarchy to snap up Zaniolo and the Lilywhites could soon make an offer for the winger.

However, Eccleshare has now explained that, despite Spurs liking Zaniolo, the club are not desperate to sign the Roma star and they could even put the deal off until January or next summer.

The journalist told Chris Cowlin’s YouTube Channel (starting at 36:28): “He (Zaniolo) is someone Spurs like. He is on their list but Roma want a lot of money for him. So, it’s not an easy deal to get done. 

“That said, Premier League clubs are in a strong position as a buyer because they can afford to offer wages that a lot of clubs in other leagues cannot.

“He (Zaniolo) is someone Spurs like. Depends on how much they push for that. It’s not, theoretically, a position that they desperately need (to strengthen).

“So, they might think, ‘let’s wait. See where we are in January. See where we are next summer’, but they do like him.”

When asked if there are any other creative midfielders Spurs are interested in, Eccleshare responded: “Zaniolo is the one where they are probably the furthermost along, and even that is not especially far.”

Spurs Web Opinion 

Many journalists have suggested over recent weeks that Paratici will continue to be on the lookout for ‘market opportunities’. That is exactly what Zaniolo is, and I suspect both Conte and Paratici will view the chance to sign the 23-year-old as too good an opportunity to pass up on.

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