Tottenham Hotspur have been in contact with Nicolo Zaniolo ahead of the closing stages of the January transfer window.
What's the talk?
That's according to Sandro Sabatini, with the Italian journalist revealing in a recent interview on Italia 1 (via Sport Witness) that Fabio Paratici has made contact with the AS Roma midfielder in recent weeks, instructing the 23-year-old to "break up with Roma" so that he could then bring the player to Tottenham this month.
And, with Jose Mourinho recently revealing that the Italy international has informed him that he "doesn't want to play for Roma" beyond Tuesday's transfer deadline, it would appear as if the playmaker has followed Paratici's instructions - with the Serie A side reported to have placed the midfielder on the market for a figure in the region of €40m (£35m).
Regarding Paratici's contact with Zaniolo, Sabatini said: "I have an exclusive background on the player. He had received a message from Paratici... The content of the message for Zaniolo was this: 'Break up with Roma and then I’ll take you to Tottenham'."
Emerson upgrade
While it is true that Spurs now look set to seal the signing of Pedro Porro on deadline day, considering just how poor Emerson Royal has been this season, coupled with it being reported that Antonio Conte would be willing to part with the Brazilian in January, it would not be surprising to see Paratici launch a late move for Zaniolo in the closing stages of the transfer window.
With it being previously reported that Antonio Conte wanted to bring Zaniolo to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in order to turn the midfielder into a wing-back, the argument can be made that the 23-year-old could represent a huge upgrade on the former Barcelona full-back.
Indeed, Conte himself admitted that he prefers his wing-backs to be more forward-thinking than defensively-minded, while the 53-year-old also has a history of converting attackers into defenders - with Ivan Perisic arguably being the best example of this.
And, when looking at Zaniolo's metrics over the last year, it is not difficult to understand why Conte would be interested in making the £17.5m-rated talent his next project in the position.
Indeed, FBref currently rank the £79k-per-week playmaker in the top 5% of forwards in Europe's big five leagues for dribbles completed per 90, as well as the top 15% for shot-creating actions, the top 17% for xAG - xG which follows a pass that assists a shot - and the top 36% for progressive passes - highlighting his creativity on the ball.
The 23-year-old also clearly puts the work in a defensive capacity, with FBref also ranking the player who journalist Nick Mercadante dubbed both a "monster" and "unreal" in the top 24% of European forwards for tackles, the top 24% for blocks and the top 41% for interceptions per 90.
Furthermore, the 11-cap international also boasts extremely impressive positional versatility, being able to operate from both central and attacking midfield, on either flank, as a support striker and even as an out-and-out number nine - something which suggests Zaniolo can easily adapt to being deployed in different areas of the pitch.
As such, while the Italian may not appear a direct replacement for Emerson on paper, with Conte being something of a master in transforming forwards into wing-backs, the Roma star could well end up being Tottenham's next successful convert on the flanks - should Paratici manage to get a deal over the line for the midfielder prior to tonight's transfer deadline.