Tottenham have seen their fresh bid of Japhet Tangaga plus Taguy Ndombele rejected, as Mourinho wants Oliver Skipp in Tottenham’s player swap deal to sign Nicolo Zaniolo.
Tottenham seen their first bid of £25m plus centre-back Joe Rodon bid rejected last month. (Getty Images)
Zaniolo, 22, has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League and most notably, Tottenham, with Roma demanding €60m for his services.
The asking price has already put off Juventus earlier this summer and Spurs have also found Roma’s asking price for the 23-year-old too high.
According to the latest report by La Repubblica (via Giallorossi.net), Tottenham have tried to meet the Roma’s asking price with a proposed offer of Japhet Tanganga and Tanguy Ndombele and not putting cash on the scales
While Mourinho ‘likes’ Tanganga, he’s not interested in the service of Ndombele, and wants Oliver Skipp – player he once described as a future captain of Tottenham – as a counterpart for the sale of Zaniolo.
Spurs apparently refused to include the “fantastic” 21-year-old, so there haven’t been any advances in talks.
Tottenham fans will no doubt be happy to hear that their club won’t entertain any approach for Skipp.(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
Skipp has impressed in Spurs’ midfielder since returning from a successful loan spell at Norwich in 2020-21. Sadly, the Englishman has suffered a number of injury setbacks over the past few months.
Tottenham reluctant to pay Roma asking price for Nicolo Zaniolo.
Mourinho wants to keep Zaniolo for this season at all costs and Tottenham are reluctant to pay the asking price, nor enter into talks of Skipp inclusion despite Conte’s insistence on signing Zaniolo.
Juventus, too, have been keen on signing Zaniolo, but they also deem the price excessive. And with Mourinho intent to keep hold of him, Roma are unlikely to lower their valuation, meaning Spurs could end up missing out on his signing if they are unwilling to match that price.
His contract at the Stadio Olimpico runs until the summer of 2024. He could sign an extension to that deal if he remains with Roma beyond this window.