Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly still locked in negotiations with Roma over a deal for playmaker Nicolo Zaniolo.
The Italy international's fledgling career has already been halted by more than one serious injury, but he has still established a reputation as a top talent in Serie A.
Zaniolo was part of the Roma team that won the Europa Conference League under Jose Mourinho last year and contributed five goals and three assists in 10 European matches, including the winner against Feyenoord in the final.
Across all competitions, the 23-year-old amassed eight goals and eight assists from 42 matches after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury which ruled him out of the entire 2021-22 season.
Zaniolo only has two years left to run on his contract with Roma, and Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici has been tipped to continue his raid of Serie A with the Italian's signing.
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According to 90Min, Tottenham and Roma are still locked in talks over a move for the former Genoa, Fiorentina and Inter Milan product, but he will not arrive in North London on the cheap.
The report adds that Mourinho's side are prepared to demand as much as €50m (£41.9m) to sanction Zaniolo's sale, but the Serie A side are still determined to keep him and plan to offer him a new-and-improve deal, with his last extension coming in 2019.
Conte would supposedly be keen to use Zaniolo in an advanced wing-back role, with Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and Son Heung-min all battling for the attacking spots in Tottenham's 3-4-3.
However, Tottenham will have to fend off interest from Juventus to sign Zaniolo, who recently faced Conte's side with Roma in their I-Tech Cup success in Israel.
Inter paid just over £4m to acquire Zaniolo's services from Inter in the summer of 2018, and the Italy international has since registered 22 goals and 15 assists in 111 games for the Giallorossi.
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Roma are also alleged to have been in contact with Spurs to enquire about Japhet Tanganga, leading to speculation surrounding a possible player-plus-cash deal.
AC Milan are still pushing hard to sign Tanganga, though, and a potential deal for Zaniolo involving Tanguy Ndombele is thought to be a non-starter.
If Tottenham ultimately fail in their efforts to strike a deal for Zaniolo, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore is reportedly the Lilywhites' top alternative.
Tottenham have already welcomed no fewer than six new players to the club this summer, with Clement Lenglet arriving on loan, while Fraser Forster, Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, Djed Spence and Yves Bissouma have signed permanent deals.
However, Richarlison will not be available for Spurs' Premier League opener with Southampton on Saturday after being hit with a one-game ban for throwing a flare into the crowd during Everton's 1-0 success over Chelsea last season.
Ben Knapton
