Arguably one of the hottest youngsters on the transfer market, Nicolo Zaniolo is not short of suitors trying to lure him, both in Italy and abroad, starting with Juventus and Milan. In recent weeks, Tottenham Hotspur, on the directions of coach Antonio Conte, have been making headway inquiring about the 22-year-old’s availability. However, it is the Bianconeri who look more eager to steal the Roma talent away.
As per the latest La Gazzetta dello Sport reports, Giallorossi sporting director Tiago Pinto met twice with his agent Claudio Vigorelli over the past week, but no progress is understood to have been made between the two parties regarding a contract renewal.
The prodigy has two years left on his contract at the capital club, and any talk of an extension has been discarded on a whim by the player and his entourage. Keeping that in mind, Roma are prepared to cash in on him this summer.
Amid all the saga unfolding in the Italian capital, Turin giants Juventus are preparing an offer of €25M plus either Weston McKennie and/or Arthur in a swap plus cash deal for Zaniolo. These are two players José Mourinho really likes, but eyeing the bigger picture, the capital side wants to squeeze as much as they can in monetary terms.
Sempre più lontano il rinnovo di Nicolò #Zaniolo con l’#ASRoma che valuterà offerte da €50M per cederlo. La #Juventus sempre vigile e pronta a giocarsi le proprie carte. Dalla #Bundesliga è arrivata una proposta, ma il classe 1999 poco attratto dall’estero a oggi. #calciomercato https://t.co/DepPKQT41A
— Nicolò Schira (@NicoSchira) June 23, 2022
One of the main reasons why the Giallorossi are desperate on suitors meeting their asking price of €60M is because they owe 15% of a future resale of Zaniolo to his ex-club Inter, thanks to a clause added when the transfer took place back in 2018.
Tiago Pinto has also held talks with ex-Juventus director Fabio Paratici, who now heads executive functions at Tottenham, in light of a North London move. Newcastle United are another English club keeping close tabs.
Milan sporting director Ricky Massara is another person of interest Pinto made sure to meet during lunch on Thursday. When asked how the meeting went with the Rossoneri executive, Pinto responded with a smile by saying: “We talked about the weather, the cars, the women, and everything else” (via Sky). It is understood that the Rossoneri are bent out of shape to offer the price demanded.