Over the past few weeks, the idea that Tottenham could sign Nicolo Zaniolo had returned with a lot of enthusiasm.
After all, the player has been a long-time target for Spurs, dating back to when his current manager, José Mourinho, was in charge in London, but it never really materialised.
This year, however, was different, and Corriere dello Sport on Wednesday reveal that a deal taking Zaniolo to Tottenham was pretty much done.
They start off strongly by stating ‘the club had reached an agreement on Thursday for a loan with obligation’, but the club owners then ‘changed the conditions’, wanting a sale now for €50m rather than a loan.
Mourinho had a part in stopping the deal too, as Zaniolo ‘was persuaded to stay, even if last week he had his bags ready, destined for London’.
By then, ‘the negotiations with Tottenham had come a long way’, as Conte ‘insisted so much on having the Giallorossi talent’.
Tiago Pinto, who travelled to the English capital to try and offload Justin Kluivert to Fulham, ‘got into the heart of the operation’ with Spurs for Zaniolo in the same trip.
In fact, ‘an agreement had been reached for the sale on loan with the obligation of redemption for about €50m that would be triggered when certain sporting results were achieved’.
That’s when Tottenham ‘contacted Zaniolo’s entourage, obtaining the approval of the player, offering a wage of €4.5m/season’.
However, a good performance against Shakhtar Donetsk and a warm reception from the fans changed all that, and ‘yesterday morning, there was a new contact between Roma and Tottenham’ during which the Serie A side ‘changed the conditions’, wanting a direct transfer for €50m instead of the pre-agreed loan.
This is when the operation was ‘no longer viable’ for Spurs, meaning Zaniolo now ‘remains’ where he is, ‘thanks to the pact reached with Mourinho, who doesn’t want to let him leave this year’.
The Portuguese manager has ‘invited him’ to renew, allowing him to then ‘go away next year earning even more’.
