Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has made Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish and Roma starlet Nicolo Zaniolo top transfer targets for the summer, claims The Daily Mail.
The north London outfit haven’t signed a single player in each of the last two transfer windows but Pochettino has been given assurances about money to spend this summer.
Pochettino wants to bolster his midfield options ahead of the new season and has rekindled his long-standing interest in Grealish, as well as making Zaniolo a top transfer target.
Tottenham’s pursuit of Grealish may hinge on whether Villa get promoted from the Championship or not this season. Villa lost last season’s play-off final and will hope to go one better this time around.
Failure to secure Premier League football next season will almost certainly force Villa to cash in on Grealish, with Crystal Palace also keen on the 23-year-old, who is arguably the best player in the Championship.
Grealish has added goals and assists to his game since Dean Smith’s appointment as Villa manager, playing a direct hand in seven goals in his last 10 appearances for his boyhood club.
Pochettino also has his eye on Zaniolo, who has enjoyed a sublime breakthrough campaign for Roma following his summer transfer from Inter.
Zaniolo has played a direct hand in six league goals in 24 league appearances this season and the Roma midfielder became the youngest Italian to net a brace in a Champions League match earlier in the campaign.
The 19-year-old is valued at £35m but it remains to be seen whether Tottenham will be the only side interested in signing the Italy international.
