Spurs chairman Daniel Levy leading pursuit of England U21 international Djed Spence; Initial talks were not successful in finding an agreement, with the north London club indicating they believe his worth to be in excess of £10m
Friday 24 June 2022 12:27, UK
Tottenham and Middlesbrough remain apart in their valuations of Djed Spence after the latest round of negotiations.
Officials from both clubs are understood to have met in London on Thursday but were unable to find an agreement.
Chairman Daniel Levy is understood to be personally leading the club's pursuit of the England U21 right-back, leaving Fabio Paratici to concentrate on other targets.
Initial talks between Spurs and Boro were not successful in finding an agreement, with the north London club indicating they believe his worth to be in excess of £10m.
Boro, however, want at least £15m plus add-ons - so the conversation did not go further.
Spurs remain very interested in Spence and the player wants the move - but the North London club are prepared to move on if no deal can be struck and do have other options.
Among those are the Lens right wing-back Jonathan Claus and Torino's Wilfried Singo.
Spurs are also intensifying their inquiries over forward options including Everton's Richarlison and Leeds' Raphinha and both clubs are bracing themselves for bids.
Sky Sports News has been told PSV's Cody Gakpo is another player Tottenham have inquired for.
Raphinha's Leeds team-mate Jack Harrison has been on Spurs' radar for a while but is understood to have a very high valuation.
Sky in Italy's Gianluca Di Marzio, meanwhile, is reporting this morning that director of football Paritici is in Italy and has asked about Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo.
Paratici is understood to prefer to work on multiple targets simultaneously before making a final decision and move for what is agreed as the best option.
Di Marzio is reporting that Paratici has also met with Sampdoria to discuss the possible loan sale of Bryan Gil and with Roma to potentially loan centre-back Joe Rodon to Jose Mourinho, who likes the player after their time together at Hotspur Way.
Sky Sports News reporter Mark McAdam:
"Spence had a tremendous season at Nottingham Forest and was a huge part of that Steve Cooper side that got promoted to the Premier League.
"The 21-year-old made 46 appearances and there was a chance he might have joined Forest this summer but all eyes are pointing towards Spurs.
"We know Tottenham are desperate to sign him and we know he is desperate to play for Antonio Conte in the Premier League.
"This is all now down to money. We know that Daniel Levy is a fierce negotiator in the transfer window when it comes to signing players and we know there is a gap between what Tottenham want to pay and what Middlesbrough are willing to accept.
"It's a case of who blinks first, but what we're told is that if Tottenham don't get this move over the line then they will move onto other targets.
"Conte wants to sign a new right-back, he sees Spence as the No 1 target but he's not the only one."
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1.
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