Tottenham believe they are well placed to snap up Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo as part of a cash and player deal for Toby Alderweireld (The Daily Mirror).
The Belgian defender is one of the Serie A side’s top priorities this summer but they cannot afford to trigger his £25million release clause.
As a result, Spurs believe Zaniolo could work as part of the deal for the 30-year-old, who has been a part of Mauricio Pochettino’s team since 2015.
In a summer of change in north London, the former Ajax and Southampton man would not be the first defender to leave after Kieran Trippier departed to link up with Atletico Madrid for £20m.
The Lilywhites are also looking to try and sign Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis for what is being reported as potentially a club record fee and the £25m they could receive for Alderweireld alongside Zaniolo may help them raise the funds for the transfer.
The 20-year-old is an incredibly high-rated prospect having made his international debut for Italy before even starting a game for Roma.
He is a very versatile youngster as he has played on both flanks, in central midfield, and as a centre forward in what has been a short career to date.
Last season he played 36 times for the Italian side, contributing six goals and two assists – although his temperament is something which could be called into question as he also picked up 11 yellow cards.
However, something has to give providing both Lo Celso and Zaniolo move to Spurs, and that something would likely be Christian Eriksen – who has been linked with a move to both Real Madrid and Atletico.
Although the Italian can be played in a number of different positions, he did occupy an attacking midfield role 19 times in the 2018/19 campaign.
Therefore, it might be unlikely Pochettino would try and incorporate his two new forward-thinking players into a squad which already contains both Eriksen and Dele Alli.
If Tottenham do sign Zaniolo, and Lo Celso follows suit, as a Spurs fan you would not feel confident that your Danish playmaker has much time left at the club.
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