Report: Paratici weighs up bid for 'frightening' international as Spurs eye 'excellent signing'

Tottenham Hotspur, and by extension sporting director Fabio Paratici, are weighing up a move for AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo, with a big decision expected soon.

The nine-cap Italy international has been linked with a move to Spurs for most of this summer, with rumours of talks and approaches rife as the 2022/23 Premier League season gets underway.

Antonio Conte’s men brushed aside Southampton on the opening weekend, firing four goals past the Saints through Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier, Mohammed Salisu (own goal) and Dejan Kulusevski.

The north Londoners looked strong in that emphatic win, yet going by some reports, they could further strengthen their first-team squad despite already confirming six summer signings.

Indeed, it appears that sporting director Paratici is weighing an offer for Zaniolo, with a big decision expected soon.

ASRomaLive claim, as shared by Sport Witness, that Tottenham accept Roma’s conditions that they will only let him go for a figure around €50m (£42m), or through a loan with a purchase obligation.

As such, Paratici and co are evaluating whether to table a bid, and they will make their call in the next three to four days.

Finishing 2021/22 as one of Jose Mourinho’s best attacking threats at Roma, a move for Zaniolo surely must be attempted.

The 23-year-old completed more successful take-ons per 90 and drew more fouls than any other Giallorossi player in Serie A last year (WhoScored), figures which back the opinion of journalist Ben Jacobs, who recently called him ‘frightening‘.

Jacobs also endorsed Zaniolo as a potentially ‘excellent signing‘ for Conte, and going by the above numbers, it’s hard to disagree.

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