Tottenham Hotspur have arguably had the best transfer window out of all 20 Premier League clubs this summer. They have signed six players ahead of the upcoming season as Antonio Conte constructs a squad that is worthy of competing for silverware.
Spurs have splashed out just shy of £100million on Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Djed Spence, while Ivan Perisic and Fraser Forster arrived on free transfers and Clement Lenglet has signed a season-long loan deal.
But Conte isn’t ready to stop there, with Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo and Villarreal’s Pau Torres also eyed, but the Italian needs to generate extra funds in order to spend and has therefore put seven players up for sale.
Conte has already made it clear that Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks are not part of his plans for the upcoming season after leaving the quartet out of Tottenham ’s squad for their pre-season tour of South Korea last week, with the former duo sent out on loan in the second half of last season.
But according to The Guardian, four more players have been added to the transfer list. Spurs will allow Japhet Tanganga, who has fallen further down the pecking order in defence following Lenglet’s arrival, to leave for the right price. They will also attempt to sell Bryan Gil, whom Conte believes is not suited to the Premier League.
Finally, one of Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty will also be moved on, if possible, following Spence’s arrival, with just one back-up needed for the right wing-back spot. The former had already been tipped for a move away from Spurs this summer following an underwhelming debut campaign in North London.
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And whatever funds are generated from the players they manage to sell will be put towards the signing of Zaniolo from former manager Jose Mourinho ’s Roma, who Conte is a big fan of and sees as the creative player that is missing from his side.
Zaniolo is one of the most highly-rated talents in Italy and contributed with eight goals and nine assists in 42 games across all competitions last season. This helped Roma finish sixth in Serie A, reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia and win the inaugural Europa Conference League. Zaniolo scored the winner in the continental final.
Tottenham chief Fabio Paratici has travelled to Milan for exit discussions regarding Ndombele, Gil and Tanganga. However, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato, his trip abroad could also give him the chance to explore a deal with Roma for long-term target Zaniolo.
Mourinho’s outfit are understandably keen to keep a hold of one of their star assets and are set to demand a significant fee of around €80m (£68m) for any potential suitors, while it has also been revealed that they would prefer to sell to an overseas club if it comes down to it.
As well as this, Spurs could also continue their pursuit of Villarreal’s Torres, should they generate sufficient funds from any player sales. The Lilywhites have already been linked with the Spanish international this summer but Unai Emery’s side have been playing hard-ball over letting their defensive stalwart go.
Lenglet has since arrived in that position but only on a loan deal, meaning that Conte may well view Torres as a permanent solution at centre-back. The Italian manager needs plenty of options for a defence that operates with a back three, especially with Champions League commitments coming up this season.
