Nicolò Zaniolo was closer to joining Tottenham than imagined, but José Mourinho stepped in and convinced him to stay. His spiel seems to have broken through because the attacker is apparently off the market. He will negotiate a new contract once the window closes.
As per Corriere dello Sport, Roma director Tiago Pinto had struck a deal with the Spurs during last week’s trip to London. The formula would have been a loan with a conditioned obligation to buy for a total of €50M. Director Fabio Paratici used it many times when he was at Juventus.
Despite his reported reservations about leaving Serie A, Zaniolo was leaning towards transferring to Tottenham before Mourinho intervened. He would have earned €4.5M annually in England. The cheers from the Roma crowd during the friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk also contributed to changing the attacker’s mind.
The Special One invited him to stick around and ink a new deal. He suggested that he could potentially ask for more money in the future if he fared well in 2022/2023. After the chat between the duo, the Giallorossi modified the conditions of the deal, requesting €50M on the nail. The Spurs backed out.
Our Take on Zaniolo, Tottenham and Mourinho
If the report were accurate, it would be quite the turn of events because it’s rare for players to retrace their steps once they decide to leave. But the Portuguese gaffer is no ordinary coach. It’s also true that the starlet’s stocks aren’t as high as they could possibly be since it wasn’t all roses for him last season. Roma are getting a huge assist from the fact that Juventus don’t have the dough for such a purchase this summer.
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