Still looking for attacking depth, Tottenham is reportedly in contact with Serie A side Roma for Italian striker Mattia Destro.
The talented yet enigmatic Italian striker would be a solid addition to the London club, but questions remain about his character.
With just the Emmanuel Adebayor, Harry Kane, and the struggling Roberto Soldado for striker depth, Spurs are looking to at the least upgrade and maybe even add to their ranks.
According to journalist Tancredi Palmeri, Spurs contacted the Italian club about Destro and offered to swap with Soldado, and Roma are now pondering the offer. Palmeri reports that the Roma front office will meet with manager Rudi Garcia to see if Soldado is a player who would fit his plans.
The 23-year-old striker enjoyed a prolific season last year, with 13 goals in 20 Serie A matches, but he also raised some questions about his character.
Destro missed out on World Cup selection by former manager Cesare Prandelli thanks to an incident where he punched fellow Italian Davide Astori during a Serie A match, and the young striker has had anger flareups in the past.
Prandelli publicly said Destro was not selected because he didn’t want to take three strikers to the competition, but the Roma man wasn’t even named as a reserve, suggesting Prandelli was concerned about his standing among the rest of the dressing room.
This isn’t an entirely new rumor, as there were rumblings of it in the Italian media back in July.
Rumors have flown all summer about Soldado’s exit from White Hart Lane. Most have involved his native country of Spain, but after showing a lack of finishing quality last year, the more free-flowing Italian game might suit his talents well.
Saturday, The Express placed Destro’s price tag at around $40 million, although it remains to be seen if the two clubs see the pair of players at equal value or if there would be money changing hands if a swap ends up going through.