‘Tottenham make approach to sign Giovanni Leoni amid Paratici agreement’ – Top source
Tottenham have made a move to sign Parma centre-back Giovanni Leoni.
The 18-year-old made 17 appearances for Parma as they narrowly avoided relegation from Serie A last season.
He also scored his first senior goal in the Emilia-Romagna club’s 2-1 defeat to Cagliari back in February.
Spurs now want to sign the highly-rated Italian youngster in a deal that has got Fabio Paratici’s fingerprints all over it.
Paratici pulls strings on Tottenham transfer move
Although he resigned as Tottenham’s managing director of football in April 2023, Paratici is still said to have a lot of sway on transfer decisions in North London.
The Telegraph reported on 23 June that Spurs have a consultancy contract in place with Paratici until the end of the summer transfer window.
The Italian transfer chief no doubt has had a role in eyeing up Parma’s rising star Leoni from his homeland.
However, the problem for Spurs is that half of the Premier League are also keen on the teenager.
TalkSPORT’s top journalist Alex Crook reported on 8 July that at least 10 Premier League clubs have approached Parma with enquiries about the Italy Under-19 international.
Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle are named in Crook’s report, but it’s unclear who the other teams are.
How much would Tottenham have to pay to sign Leoni?
Leoni is clearly a highly-rated young player.
When a top Italian centre-back bursts onto the scene, a lot of scouts and recruitment experts start to notice.
Understandably, Parma want a lot of money for the former Sampdoria ace, with CaughtOffside claiming on 20 June that Spurs are eyeing up an opening bid of at least £21million for Leoni.
If that’s Tottenham’s opening gambit for the Rome-born wonderkid, it’s likely that Parma will want more.
And with Liverpool and Newcastle also reportedly pursuing a deal, a bidding war could be sparked that will lead to Spurs having to spend more.
Even with Paratici’s go-ahead, it might be difficult for Daniel Levy to sanction a deal that could end up costing the earth.