Newcastle Utd join Tottenham in Roma star pursuit, as demand gives Jose Mourinho headache
Newcastle United have joined Tottenham in the pursuit of Nicolo Zaniolo, leading Roma manager Jose Mourinho to think hard on best course of action.
Zaniolo’s career has been hindered by injuries to this point. Indeed, the Italian has spent months at a time on the sidelines due to anterior cruciate ligament problems.
When available, he has shown himself to be a quality player for both club and country. For Roma, the attacker has been directly involved in 42 goals in 125 games.
What’s more, he has 11 Italy appearances, scoring twice. His quality when fit has led to interest in him from a few sides, with Tottenham the most heavily linked.
This season, Zaniolo has found himself on the pitch for Roma quite often. He has made 14 appearances across all competitions, in which he has scored twice and assisted three times.
Tottenham’s interest has remained throughout this season, amid his good run on the pitch.
The reasons for the north London outfit being interested in him are not hard to find.
Beyond the fact he clearly possesses quality, Antonio Conte has made solid Premier League players from Serie A transfers often during his time at Spurs.
Newcastle in talks for Zaniolo
Conte’s side are joined by another Premier League outfit who want to take Zaniolo on board. That team is Newcastle United, as reported by Football Italia.
That report suggests the Magpies have ‘been in talks’ with Roma over the possibility of signing Zaniolo.
That has apparently led to Jose Mourinho and director Tiago Pinto discussing the possibility of a sale. Those discussions will reportedly bring them to the conclusion of whether or not to ‘sacrifice’ the attacker.
Doing so would allow for funds to be spent on improving other areas of the squad.
Roma could well raise a decent fee from the sale of Zaniolo. He is a quality attacking option, who has more than a year left on his contract.
As such, a sale in this window could mean he is at the peak of his value. On top of that, they know Newcastle have the capacity to spend big, so could hike his price up, with the knowledge that they can afford to pay.
Zaniolo solid Magpies addition
Zaniolo seems a solid addition to the Newcastle team. Since their takeover in 2021, the Magpies have not yet splashed a massive sum on a household name.
Instead, they have made savvy pickups, for players that could develop into a top player. Bruno Guimaraes is a prime example of that working perfectly.
Zaniolo could be the next signing using that thought process. His best season in terms of goals and assists was a combined total of 11 in the 2019/20 campaign.
That shows a player who, when he develops, could have a big future. Given he is 23 years of age, that development could come quickly, and the high-flying nature of Newcastle at the moment could help with that.
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