According to recent reports out of the Italian media, Tottenham Hotspur are said to be keeping tabs on Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioloi, who has fallen down the pecking order, under new manager Thiago Motta this season.
The 23-year old served a seven month ban last season for betting offences, a somewhat less severe punishment that compatriot and friend Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali received at the same time.
However, owing to the player’s qualities, Italy national team manager Luciano Spalletti still named him in their squad for the European Championships over the summer, despite playing just twice after October.
As touched on above, the midfielder has not found regular minutes as easy to come by as before, with Thiago Motta going for the likes of Khephren Thuram, and Manuel Locatelli, who was also linked with Spurs in the summer, instead.
Still, there is no doubt that Fagioli is a very good player. Capable of playing as a defensive midfielder or further forward as a box to box type, he is a player with a lot of technical qualities, but is also a player capable of winning the ball back, and putting fires out.
Lord only knows how much Spurs need that. Fans have recently been mentioning that they do not see Yves Bissouma, or Rodrigo Bentancur, when he is available, as number sixes, with the need of a ball winner well documented at this point.
Furthermore, the summer transfer window has been discussed at length this week, with Dominic Solanke seen as the only proven signing made. Whilst Fagioli, at 23, is still a fairly young player, he is much more experienced than the rest of the signings that the club made in the most recent transfer window. This is the sort of signing that would add quality and experience, but again with someone who can still grow and improve.
In the defeat at AFC Bournemouth on Thursday night, we saw Andoni Iraola’s side consistently cut through Ange’s side at will, and the need for some more steel in the middle of the park was very apparent. With Fagiolo, perhaps they have found the man for that, whilst also not having someone technically deficient at the same time.
As it stands, the Italian international has a contract with the Turin club until 2028. However, as per publication GiveMeSport, they are reportedly ready to sanction a cut-price sale in January, with the player set to be available for a fee as low as around £20 million pounds.