Could Tottenham Hotspur make a concrete move for Rafael Leao as their negotiations with Manchester City regarding Savinho continue to stall?
It has been widely reported that Savinho is Tottenham’s top winger target, with Roberto De Zerbi thought to be a big fan of the Brazilian.
However, the 22-year-old does not seem close to a move to the North London club, having travelled with the Man City squad for their pre-season tour to Asia.
The Lilywhites have explored alternatives, with reports revealing earlier this month that Tottenham held discussions with Milan over Leao, who has two years left on his contract at the San Siro.
Some sources have even claimed that the Portugal international had informed Spurs he is willing to join them ahead of the new season.
Tottenham will not be signing Rafael Leao this summer
Many Spurs fans were excited about the Leao rumours when they first surfaced, but Fabrizio Romano has now made it clear that the 27-year-old is not a target for the Lilywhites.
The journalist has asserted that Savinho remains Tottenham’s preferred target, and that the Premier League side are not holding discussions over a deal for the Milan star.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: “According to my information, I told you several times there were rumours about Tottenham, [but] Rafa is not a target for Tottenham as of today. Should anything change, I will let you know, but as of today, the understanding is that Tottenham are not working on a deal for Rafael Leao, not at all, he is not a target.
“At the moment, the target of Tottenham is Savinho [from Manchester City]. Tottenham want to sign Savinho, and they will sign one more [player this summer], but at this stage, with Leao, the deal is not being discussed.”
European club pushing ahead with move for Leao
According to reports from Italy, Leao is now more open to joining Fenerbahce than he was a few weeks ago, as Tottenham had not made a move for the 27-year-old as he had hoped.
Romano has now confirmed that the Turkish club are now making progress in their efforts to sign the Portuguese star, with their representatives having travelled to Italy to push through a deal.
The journalist added: “There is a club attacking [the situation strongly] for Rafael Leao and that club is Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce travelled from Istanbul to Milano over the recent hours, Fenerbahce are there with a delegation and are working hard to sign Rafa Leao.”