It’s worth recalling that, over the January transfer window, before signing Arnaut Danjuma right from under Everton’s nose, Tottenham were trying to sign Nicolo Zaniolo.
Fabio Paratici made his attempts, only to see AS Roma turn them down, as they made it clear they wanted to ensure any money they received for the Italian was guaranteed.
Therefore, they weren’t in a position to accept any loan offers with an option to buy, even if said option were to be made mandatory under certain circumstances, which is what Tottenham offered with them willing to offer the money should they qualify for the Champions League.
This, though, was a stance that surprised not only Spurs, but also Zaniolo’s agent, Claudio Vigorelli, as explained by Corriere dello Sport on Thursday.
Looking back at the player’s now very difficult situation in Rome, they recall that the 23-year-old had already agreed a move to Spurs in the summer, but the Serie A side ‘refused a loan with an obligation of €40m plus another €10m in counterparts’.
They were still firm believers in Zaniolo then, and Tiago Pinto even told him that if he stayed, a new contract offer would be made in September.
However, it never came, likely due to him wanting €4.5m/year, and that frustrated him, which is why, ‘two weeks ago, Tottenham came forward again’.
That was well reported, but his agent ‘was convinced the deal could be defined as a loan’.
Unfortunately, Roma ‘set other conditions’, namely the ones explained above, which Tottenham were unwilling to accept.
