Tottenham were heavily linked with Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi this summer with reports claiming that the 29-year-old dreams of playing at Tottenham. Sadly for him, the North Londoners could not get it done.
Tottenham had been heavily linked with the Ukrainian midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi this transfer window.(photo: Getty Images)
Malinovskyi is a versatile player capable of playing in various positions. For La Dea, the Ukrainian has mainly played as a number 10. In the previous campaign, the 29-year-old featured 41 times for Atalanta in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists.
Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi celebrates after scoring their side’s first goal against defending champions AC Milan on Match Day 2.(Photo: Getty Images)
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte wanted to add more firepower to his side, and was interested in bringing the Ukrainian attacking midfielder to North London earlier this summer. But, Spurs could not agree a deal with the Italian club Atalanta.
Spurs perched on their good relationship with Atalanta having previously agreed moves for Cristian Romero and Pierluigi Gollini – both on loan with an obligation to buy. But, Atalanta was reluctant to strike the same deal with Tottenham this time.
Speaking on Twitch, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told Malinovskyi national team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko why Tottenham Hotspur did not sign the Ukrainian international this summer.
During their conversation last night, Zinchenko asked Romano: “What about Malinovskyi?”
The journalist revealed that the Ukrainian midfielder wanted to join Tottenham this summer, but Atalanta’s huge demands meant that Spurs couldn’t get a deal done for him before last night’s deadline.
Responding to Zinchenko’s question, Romano said: “You know that Ruslan wanted to leave. The reality is that Ruslan wanted to leave and wanted to go to Tottenham.
His dream was to try Premier League experience like you (Zinchenko) but the only way for Tottenham move was a loan. Because Tottenham can only do loan move.”
“They offered a loan with buy option few days ago, but only a verbal proposal, because they knew with Atalanta it was impossible. Atalanta president is in love with Ruslan, he said £40 million or nothing.
“Nobody offered £40 million, so he’s staying. He really had this dream of Premier League and Tottenham.”
Conte has been linked with several midfielders – including the likes of Nicolo Zaniolo, James Maddison and Ruslan Malinvoyski – in a bid to boost the creativity in his side’s ranks but will have to wait until the next window to bring in any addition to his side.
Leave a comment.