Jose Mourinho Blocked Tottenham Hotspur’s Efforts to Sign Nicolo Zaniolo, Conte Ready to Offer Tanguy Ndombele

Jose Mourinho Blocked Tottenham Hotspur’s Efforts to Sign Nicolo Zaniolo, Conte Ready to Offer Tanguy Ndombele

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:08 PM
  • Former Tottenham Hotspurs boss Jose Mourinho is said to have moved in and blocked AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo from leaving the club
  • Zaniolo is understood to have already agreed on terms with Spurs as Antonio Conte looks to add more depth to his squad
  • Spurs are set to return with an improved offer that includes Tanguy Ndomebele, who had issues with Mourinho in the past

AS Roma's boss Jose Mourinho reportedly blocked his former side Tottenham Hotspur from signing Nicolo Zaniolo.

Zaniolo and Spurs had apparently already agreed on personal terms only for Mourinho to move in and direct Roma not to sell.

Jose Mourinho, AS Roma, Nicolo Zaniolo, Tanguy Ndombele, Tottenham Hotspur, Paulo Dybala, Antonio Conte
AS Roma's head coach Jose Mourinho has blocked Nicolo Zaniolo's move to Spurs. Photo by Antonietta Baldassarre.
Source: Getty Images

Daily Mail reports that Roma and Spurs had initially agreed on a one-year deal with an obligation to buy, but Mourinho scuttled those efforts. The understanding amongst Roma's bosses was that Zaniolo could be allowed to leave, given that the club had already secured another marquee signing in Paulo Dybala.

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However, all is not lost for Antonio Conte's side. It is understood that Roma could accept an upfront fee for the 23-year-old.

To sweeten the deal further, Spurs are ready to include midfielder Tanguy Ndomebele in the deal. Ndombele's position in Conte's side is literally close to zero following the acquisition of Yves Bissouma and the quick adaptation to Premier League life of Rodrigo Bentancur.

However, Mourinho might not be interested in Ndombele, given that he wasn't particularly a favourite during his short spell at Spurs. Mourinho was always critical of Ndombele's fitness issues. Furthermore, Roma has already roped in former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

Conte is still keen on adding more attackers to his forward line after acquiring Richarlison from Everton. The club also made Dejan Kulusevski's deal permanent from Juventus.

Paulo Dybala takes one of the worst corner kicks in history

Sports Brief had earlier reported that new AS Roma forward Paulo Dybala had a night to forget when he took on of the poorest corner kicks in football's history.

Dybala was making his second appearance for Jose Mourinho's men after joining the club on a free transfer from Juventus.

He arrived in the Italian capital with a lot of promise, but now he has a lot of work to do to mend his reputation after a failed corner kick. His effort failed to leave the ground at any point before wandering off the pitch before it could even reach the opponent's penalty area.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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Antonio ConteJose MourinhoTransfersWorld