Romano rules out Tottenham move for winger who ‘wants’ PL move; names two top targets | OneFootball

Tottenham will not pursue a move for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao this summer as they have two other targets in mind, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Spurs have already revamped much of their side this summer with six new signings coming through the door by early July.

The Tottenham hierarchy are looking to make sure they don’t find themselves in another relegation battle next season after finishing just two points above the drop last term.

Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka have all joined on free transfers, while Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have all arrived in deals totalling £237m.

Tottenham are now looking to improve the attacking areas of their side after addressing the defence and midfielder, with many rumours about potential targets.

AC Milan winger Leao, who could be available for a cut-price fee, is one player who has been heavily linked – but Italian transfer insider Romano insists that Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Manchester City’s Savinho are their top two targets.

Romano said on YouTube: “On links between Rafael Leao and Tottenham. Can Rafael Leao go to Tottenham? Is it true that Tottenham are negotiating for Rafael Leao?

“Guys, my understanding is the main names to take into consideration for Tottenham for the winger positions are: Cody Gakpo – but at the moment Liverpool are yet to open doors to an exit – and Savinho. Savinho is a top target for Tottenham. These two players are considered priorities for Tottenham for the winger position.

“I’m not saying they are joining, because this depends on negotiations, but Savinho is number one, two and three because Tottenham already wanted one year ago. If you remember, in my videos I always told you this.

“Then Cody Gakpo is a desire of Tottenham but at the moment Liverpool are not opening the doors to an exit, so we have to be patient. On Rafael Leao, I’m not aware of negotiations between Tottenham, his agent, Tottenham and Milan, at the moment I’m not aware.”

European expert Andy Brassell has given the lowdown on what a new club could expect from Leao after news that the Portugal international “wants to test himself in the Premier League”.

Brassell told talkSPORT: “Rafael Leao is not at the peak of his form at the moment. But that probably means he’s a potential bargain for some lucky Premier League team out there.

“He’s had some stuff going on off the pitch as well – personal stuff that he’s had to deal with which is no doubt affected him.

“But as we said, even with him playing below potential, the numbers have actually been pretty good if we overlook the fact that he didn’t create as much as he might have done last season and, in fact, all the numbers have been down.

“But what this has meant is that there’s a potential bargain there. We talked about that 175 million euro buyout clause.

“No one’s paying even half that at the moment. There’s no question of that.

“So this brings the Premier League teams back into the picture. It’s not just about the Saudi clubs. And he’s shown a real disinclination to go to Saudi.

“He wants to stay in Europe, and he wants to test himself in the Premier League.”

Brassell added: “He said before the World Cup that he thinks this is the moment for him at 27 to separate from Milan.

“So I guess the question is: can he do it, and where is the fit? He can definitely do it. We’ve seen that in this World Cup.

“In fact, in that rather scratchy last 32 performance that Portugal gave against Croatia, he was one of their better players.

“He’s brilliant on that left-hand side, creating the winner with a fantastic cross for Goncalo Ramos. How much is he as well?

“So underlining exactly what an impactful player he can be any given moment. Before you look at his dribbling and his speed, the way he can change pace and direction. It just glides on the ball. It looks so effortless, almost like Thierry Henry in that sort of slot.

“He never looks like he’s busting a blood vessel, but he’s completely outpacing others. So the second bit that who really see?

“We know Tottenham were interested in him, and that would be a really interesting bit, a big upgrade for him for them on that left-hand side.

“Of course, since Son [Heung-min] has gone, they’ve not really had a player of that sort of explosive quality in that sort of area of the pitch, and I think they are comparable because even though Son did become more central in the closing part of his time, it’s first we know Rafael now can do that.

“We know he can come inside and score goals as well, and maybe the fluidity of the Premier League and the pace of it really works for him in that sense in the sense that he’s always fighting for the right to counter-attack.

“Now look, there are loads of other clubs that he could end up at, but with Tottenham really nailing their colours to the mast in terms of getting out there in terms of battering down all the previous cliches about them not spending money this season – He would be a huge, huge upgrade in attack.

“Working with a coach as intense as Roberto De Zerbi might get the best out of him consistently, which is exactly what he needs at the age of 27 if he’s really to become one of the best players in the world.”