Tottenham Hotspur could be about to line up a shock move for Leeds United winger Dan James before the end of the summer transfer window after failing to land Roma ace Nicolo Zaniolo.
Spurs were said to be ‘very close’ to signing Zaniolo this summer, before Roma’s owners pulled the plug on the deal by upping his price tag and forcing Antonio Conte’s side out of a move.
However, the north London outfit are quickly moving on to alternative targets and are said to be contemplating a swoop for former Manchester United man James, who is also eyed as a replacement for outgoing Spanish flop Bryan Gil.
But this has all come off the back of Tottenham ’s failure to capture Zaniolo from Jose Mourinho ’s side this summer, with Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport revealing that Roma’s sporting director Tiago Pinto came very close to sanctioning a deal with Spurs.
The Italian forward has been linked with Spurs for the majority of this summer following an impressive campaign that yielded eight goals and nine assists in 42 games across all competitions, including the only goal of the game as Roma defeated Feyenoord in the Europa Conference League final back in May.
However, with a deal approaching completion between Mourinho’s former and current clubs for Zaniolo, Roma’s Friedkin family owners pulled the plug on the transfer at the last minute by upping their asking price to £42million, which Spurs are unwilling to pay as things stand.
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On top of that, Spurs may ditch their interest altogether following Roma’s 1-0 victory over Cremonese on Monday night, in which Zaniolo had to receive on-field treatment before deciding that he was unable to walk off the pitch under his own weight and instead left on a golf cart.
But Spurs haven’t wasted any time in identifying alternatives to the 23-year-old, with the Daily Mail reporting that Welsh international and Leeds forward James could now be the one they focus their attention on, with just a week to go until transfer deadline day.
The 24-year-old joined Leeds from rivals Man United for £25m almost 12 months ago to the day, following Cristiano Ronaldo ’s return to Old Trafford, and recorded four goals and five assists in 34 Premier League matches in his first season at Elland Road.
After missing out on this year’s opening day victory at home to Wolves through injury, James has since featured in the last two games against Southampton and Chelsea and looks to be a big part of Jesse Marsch’s plans for this season, although Tottenham’s interest could quickly change things.
The report adds that James is a player who has drawn the interest of the north London club in the past, although there have not yet been advanced talks as Spurs continue to trim their squad, with the Welsh winger viewed as a potential replacement for the outgoing Gil.
Despite only joining last summer, Gil is looking likely to return to La Liga with Valencia following a successful loan spell last season, having failed to impress both Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte, tallying just 20 games and one assist in his first 12 months at the club.
