The print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (24/01/23 as relayed by Sport Witness) has offered a potential reason why Tottenham’s pursuit of Nicolo Zaniolo seems to have fallen through, explaining that the Premier League club refused to improve on their initial offer.
Some publications had reported until a couple of days ago that Tottenham were making headway in their negotiations with Roma for Zaniolo.
In fact, 90 min even claimed on Monday that the two clubs had agreed on a fee and the only thing left to be sorted out was an agreement on the structure of the deal.
However, Spurs have since pulled off a surprise move, with Arnaut Danjuma joining the North London club on loan after the Lilywhites stole the Dutchman from under Everton’s noses (Fabrizio Romano).
Gazzetta have now shed some light on Tottenham’s negotiations for Zaniolo, revealing that Fabio Paratici was working on the deal to sign the winger but simply ‘refused to improve his first offer’.
The report explains that Spurs managing director made it clear to the 23-year-old’s representatives, as well as the Giallorossi, that the Premier League club ‘will not budge from the previous conditions’.
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It is alleged that the €30m (£26.5m) fee that Spurs were willing to offer for Zaniolo is higher than what AC Milan are ready to pay but the English club proposed ‘complex’ clauses to trigger a compulsory buy option including a minimum of ‘a dozen appearances’ and Champions League qualification.
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Given Zaniolo’s injury record, it is understandable why Tottenham would have wanted to add a clause regarding the winger’s availability for at least 12 games for the obligation to buy to be triggered.
It seems like Paratici and Spurs learned last evening that there was a realistic chance of the Zaniolo deal collapsing, which is why they quickly turned their attention to Danjuma. Meanwhile, Zaniolo is heavily being linked with a move to Bournemouth which is a surprising twist.
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