‘What if you give us’ – Journalist explains main reason Spurs pursued Zaniolo

Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas has explained that Tottenham only tried to push through a deal for Nicolo Zaniolo due to AS Roma’s interest in signing Tanguy Ndombele. 

The print edition of Corriere dello Sport (22/08/22 – as relayed by Sport Witness) reported earlier this week that Spurs came ‘very close’ to snapping up Zaniolo this summer.

The report explained that Roma’s technical director Tiago Pinto was keen on ‘closing the deal’ with the North London club but the Friedkin family, who own the Serie A club, allegedly pulled the plug on the transfer at the last minute.

Corriere added that ‘barring twists and turns’, the 23-year-old is ‘destined to remain’ at Roma and could even sign a new contract down the line.

Thomas has now said that Tottenham’s interest in Zaniolo was initiated by the Giallorossi’s desire to sign Ndombele. 

The journalist explained that Spurs have been trying to do part-exchange deals with clubs who have expressed interest in their players during the current transfer window.

The journalist told The Last Word on Spurs YouTube channel: “Spurs have been trying to get some players they really like who may not necessarily be available from clubs who are interested in their players.

“I’ll give you an example, the reason we saw the interest in Nicolo Zaniolo initially was because Roma had an interest in Tanguy Ndombele and the conversation went along the lines of ‘we want a deal for him, but we can’t afford the terms’ and Spurs said ‘What if you give us one of yours and we like Zaniolo’. 

“The response was that they didn’t want to sell Zaniolo because he’s Mr Roma, he came through the academy, he’s their favourite player, so they didn’t want to part with him under any circumstances.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Given that most Serie A clubs do not have money to spend this summer, it makes sense for Tottenham to propose part-exchange deals to those who express interest in our deadwood. Tottenham’s reported interest in Ruslan Malinovskyi may have even been initiated by Lazio’s interest in signing Sergio Reguilon.

Related Topics