Tottenham Hotspur moving for Ruslan Malinovskyi should not be ruled out, according to Fabrizio Romano. The 29-year-old attacking midfielder is attracting interest from Italy and the Premier League. He is entering the final year of his contract at Atalanta and is looking for a move away.
Tottenham Hotspur to Make Move for Ruslan Malinovskyi
‘He Dreams of Tottenham, He Would Love to Join’
Spurs have been linked with several forward-thinking midfielders to add to their squad. With the expected departure of Bryan Gil, they are looking to sign someone in that position.
Antonio Conte on Tottenham transfers: "If there are players that go out, we need players to come in. So I want a squad with a couple of players in every role". ⚠️⚪️ #THFC
Tottenham will let Bryan Gil join Valencia on loan once they find a replacement on the market. pic.twitter.com/I1SwzeIopD
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 26, 2022
Romano was asked during a Q&A session this weekend if he knew who was being targeted. In response, he stated Malinvoskyi is included in the list of options. He said last week on The Here We Go Podcast that Malinovskyi “dreams of Tottenham, on the player’s side the message is pretty clear“.
Adding more fuel to the fire, fans were quick to spot that the Atalanta player may have dropped a hint. Following Spurs’ 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, he liked a tweet from the Premier League’s official account reporting that Harry Kane’s goal had won the match. A like on social media is far from anything official, but fans are quick to jump on any hints that they can during the transfer window. It also adds more confidence to Romano’s claims that North London would be his preferred destination.
Malinovskyi One of Several Potential Targets
Spurs managing director Fabio Paratici has a reputation for holding talks for multiple players simultaneously and then choosing which is the best deal. Romano also states that this is the case here as well. Players such as Adama Traore, Allan Saint-Maximin and Hakim Ziyech have been mentioned in the media in recent weeks as potential targets.
God's Plan pic.twitter.com/voJjIRf1NT
— Ruslan Malinovskyi (@malinovskyi18) August 21, 2022
These other players all operate mainly from wide positions. With the likes of Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison, this is an area Spurs already have some depth in. Malinovskyi, however, operates centrally for Atalanta. He is used as a central attacking midfielder or a shadow striker. Spurs don’t currently have a player who has natural expertise in this area.
Signing him, therefore, would give Antonio Conte a new dimension within his squad. He demonstrated his attacking ability last season with 11 goal contributions in 30 Serie A matches. He also shone in the Europa League with five goal contributions in five matches as Atalanta made it as far as the quarter-finals.
A Complicated Situation
Tottenham are not alone in their interest in the Ukrainian’s situation. Two weeks ago, Romano reported that there were many clubs in Italy and England in contact with his representatives.
Ruslan Malinovskyi could be the next player to leave Atalanta – exploring options around Europe, with Premier League and Italian clubs in contact with his agents. 🇺🇦 #transfers
Nottingham Forest are among many clubs interested – Malinovskyi wants to discuss his future soon.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 11, 2022
The only parties named were Nottingham Forest and Marseille. Since then, Forest have not been mentioned again and appear to be out of the race.
Marseille are reportedly the only club who have made an official proposal to Atalanta. This was a swap deal involving Cengiz Ünder, but Atalanta rejected this proposal.
Atalanta claim they are unwilling to sell, which complicates the whole situation. It is widely believed the player wants to leave this month, with his contract expiring next summer. With this being the case, it is expected that there is room for negotiations. However, at this stage, the Serie A side have turned down the only deal on the table and are expected to play hardball.
