Following Giuseppe Marotta’s departure in 2018, Fabio Paratici became the main man at Juventus when it came to the transfer market. Despite some blockbuster deals, the former sporting director’s reign turned out to be a controversial one and the Old Lady decided to release him at the end of the last campaign.
Nonetheless, Paratici immediately found himself a new home in North London, as he was appointed by Tottenham Hotspur.
Even though he moved into a whole new country, the 49-year-old is still adamant on fishing in familiar waters, setting his sights on several Serie A players. Whilst Pierluigi Gollini is set to finalize his transfer from Atalanta, others could soon be following him to the English capital.
So let’s take a look at the Top 5 Serie A players linked with moves to the Spurs, ranked from the least likely transfer to the most probable one.
5- Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
In the past few years, the Premier League side has been obsessed with the Argentine star. Although things seems to have cooled down a bit this summer comparing with the previous ones, we still expect Paratici to launch an onslaught to bring his former player to Tottenham.
La Joya is expected to be at the very center of Max Allegri’s new project in Turin. However, if the club fails to put his signature on a contract renewal, exit rumors will surely emerge once again, and the Londoners will be ranked highly on the suitors list.
Chelsea and Tottenham are potential contenders to sign Paulo Dybala from Juventus.
Spurs and the Blues ‘would be willing’ to spend between €50m and €55m to have Dybala.
– @francefootball cited by @Sport_Witness pic.twitter.com/lwCbS1SlLk
— Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport) March 15, 2021
4- Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)
In the last few seasons, Lorenzo Pellegrini has been one of the few bright spots in Roma’s midfield, as he rose all the way to became the club’s captain.
Even though the Giallorossi are planning on making some additions to their squad – including Granit Xhaka – the Italian is expected to play a key role in José Mourinho’s project.
However, recent history taught us that everyone has a price in the Eternal City – especially when rich EPL sides come knocking on the door – so would the Romans be tempted by the Spurs’ reported bid which is rumored to be around 30 million euros?
The club’s new owners – The Friedkin family – will be tested by the proposal, and they’ll have the opportunity to prove that they’re much more ambitious than their predecessors.
#Tottenham continue to push for Lorenzo Pellegrini ?? but #Spurs are not willing to pay his release clause, which expires in ten days.
– @cmdotcom pic.twitter.com/DJmY96f6G8
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) July 21, 2021
3- Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli)
Born and bred in Italy, Lorenzo Insigne finds himself at a crossroad. The Euro 2020 winner has only one year left in his contract and a renewal seem to be far-fetched at this point.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis is anything but malleable and could decide to sell his captain this summer to avoid losing him as a free agent next year.
With a 25 millions said to be enough to seal the deal, Paratici and Tottenham are more than happy to pounce on the situation but they’ll be facing some stern competition from other top European clubs.
Lorenzo Insigne has received an ‘important' offer from Tottenham Hotspur. [Rai Sport] #THFC pic.twitter.com/XXiorFjN0l
— Talking THFC (@TalkingTHFC) July 17, 2021
2- Takehiro Tomiyasu (Bologna)
The Japanese may have slid under many observers’ radars but Paratici had already noticed his talent since his days in Turin.
The Spurs are said to be close to his signature as the big Serie A clubs are naturally struggling to forge 25 millions for a young defender.
Tomiyasu deal. Bologna director Riccardo Bigon to Sky Sport: “We’re not in a rush to sell Tomiyasu… Tottenham made a bid, it’s true – but many clubs are interested.
He’s tempted by the Premier Lesgue chance, we’re gonna wait for good conditions”. ??⚪️ #THFC #Spurs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 19, 2021
1- Cristian Romero (Atalanta)
Although the former Juventus director signed the Argentine from Genoa in 2019, he then allowed him to slip through his fingers last summer.
The center back won the award for the best Serie A defender last season and Atalanta are set to buy his outrights at a bargain price – 16 million euros – before making an immediate profit, at least if they they give their consent for his move to North London.
Whilst the Bianconeri are definitely the biggest losers in this operation, Paratici has been given a rare chance to rectify his mistake as Romero could be himself a Tottenham player by the end of the summer.
?@FabrizioRomano on @podcastherewego: “Tottenham are thinking of Cristian Romero ??, he is an option. It's not advanced, there's a big gap between Atalanta and Tottenham at the moment but they're are working on it." #THFC #Atalanta pic.twitter.com/mxh9fc2Cyp
— RouteOneFootball (@Route1futbol) July 20, 2021