Tottenham ‘considered’ move for £15m Serie A star in final days at Hotspur Way

Tottenham Hotspur were ‘considering’ making a move for Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi this summer, according to reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano.

It was a busy window for manager Antonio Conte, who welcomed seven new signings to the club as he stamped his authority over the first-team squad at his disposal.

Spurs were able to pick up the likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie and Djed Spence for sizeable fees prior to Thursday’s deadline, with Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic arriving on free transfers.

Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet arrived on a season-long loan deal from Barcelona to provide some additional cover and competition at centre-back.

Yet Tottenham were also believed to be in the market for a creative midfielder and were heavily linked with Malinovskyi, who was believed to be available for transfer at one point in the summer.

Italian daily national newspaper Il Giorno (via The Express) claimed that Conte’s charges were monitoring the 29-year-olds situation, with the Bergamo club valuing him at around £15 million.

And it seemed certain that Malinovskyi’s days at the Gewiss Stadium were numbered when his manager Gian Piero Gasperini stated that ‘it’s right for Atalanta to look for a player who scores more than six goals’.

Despite Gasperini’s comments about Malinovskyi, though, the attacking midfielder ended up staying put, and Tottenham were unable to add a playmaker to their ranks.

Romano has confirmed to GiveMeSport that Spurs were contemplating making a move for the Ukraine international, but Atalanta had ‘no intention’ of sanctioning his departure on a temporary or permanent basis.

He said: “They also were considering Malinovskyi, but Atlanta had no intention of letting him go on loan or on a