Tottenham in pole to sign £15m Atalanta star
Italian outlet Sport Mediaset claim Tottenham are in ‘pole position’ to sign Atalanta midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi in the January transfer window – despite previous reports claiming West Ham United are also keen on the Ukraine ace.
Malinovskyi, 29, is out of contract in the summer. Despite spending the last four years at Atalanta, where he has played 142 times, Atalanta have not been able to sort out his future. In that time, he has had a hand in 58 goals for Atalanta.
It is an interesting one. Atalanta will be keen to keep him, but they will also know that if they do not sell him in January, they run the risk of losing a talented player for nothing come the end of the season. A new deal looks very unlikely
So, a January sale is likely. CM say West Ham and Nottingham Forest are among those considering a move.Meanwhile, Tottenham have also been linked. A fee of £15m said to be enough, according to GDS ahead of the January window.
Spurs need attacking reinforcements. Injuries to Richarlison, Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski this season have highlighted how their jam-packed schedule requires more in the final third. Malinovskyi would aid that.
Tottenham have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League. That means that schedule will continue after the World Cup break. Fabio Paratici and Antonio Conte will know about the Ukraine man, given their knowledge of Serie A.
One boost Tottenham might have in their pursuit of the Atalanta man, is that they have done a deal with the Serie A side in recent past. That is, in the form of Pierluigi Gollini, signing the goalkeeper on loan in 2021, but he has since left.
