Talks Between Tottenham and Roma for Sanabria Heat Up

After Tottenham’s initial bid for Vincent Janssen was rejected by AZ Alkmaar, they have turned their attention to Antonio Sanabria once again.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Italian journalist has reported that Tottenham and Roma are set to begin talks and work out a deal for Antonio Sanabria as soon as Wednesday.

The offer has gone up from £11.5 million to £16.3 million, jumping up by £4.8 million. What used to be the original value was originally hard to figure out as news coming out from Italy are generally hard to confirm.

But now with Gianluca Di Marzio being the reporter and covering this transfer rumor between Tottenham and Roma, this actually has much more substance.

Sure, the 42-year-old Italian has seen some of his stories be false at times, or slightly off, but again, this is the closest thing that everyone can wrap their head around with a deal actually being near.

Time will tell this Wednesday if anything is actually happening, but Antonio Sanabria’s agent, Raúl Verdú, did mention that people should expect something to happen next week.

GIJON, SPAIN – JANUARY 22: Arnaldo Sanabria of Real Sporting de Gijon reacts during the La Liga match between Real Sporting de Gijon and Real Sociedad de Futbol at Estadio El Molinon on January 22, 2016 in Gijon, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) /

"“I’m speaking generally,” Sanabria’s agent Raúl Verdú said (via TuttoMercatoWeb).“There has been some contact [with Tottenham], but we’ll have to evaluate with Roma. Right now Sanabria belongs to the Giallorossi, and I’ll speak with [sporting director Walter] Sabatini to decide if he’ll move.”“At the moment there’s nothing concrete on Sanabria’s future, we’ll see if there’s news next week.”"

Despite Sanabria’s value rising, the fact that talks are starting to heat up shows that Tottenham are looking to secure a deal as soon as possible to have the 20-year-old signed quickly and join Victor Wanyama as Spurs start preparing for their pre-season.

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With Paraguay long eliminated from the Copa América after finishing dead last in Group A, it meant that the Paraguayan international could have returned to Italy and rejoined Roma but he opted to until the tournament was over before deciding his future.

The 2016 finals tonight, is a rematch from last year in which Chile lifted the prestigious trophy on their home soil against Argentina.

Following this 100th year anniversary of Copa América after the final whistle blows, Antonio Sanabria’s club career could potentially see him wind up in England if negotiations progress smoothly.

After seeing Sanabria score 11 goals in 29 appearances last season while on loan with Sporting Gijón in La Liga, per Jack Staplehurst of the Daily Express, he writes that Roma are still looking to cash in on the striker now because his value has increased quite a bit.

Paying a fee of £16.3 million does seem like it’s a bit more than Tottenham would have liked, as Victor Wanyama was signed between £11 million and £12 million, though this is the price they have to pay when Spurs’ first offer for Vincent Janssen was rejected and Olympique Marseille’s president is still considering West Ham’s offer.

Next: PSG Enter Race for Tottenham Target Vincent Janssen

This is a spot to keep a close eye on as Wednesday is just three days away.

From now until then, Tottenham could finally have a striker to go along with Harry Kane. And should Antonio Sanabria be signed, he’d be more of an understudy at this point instead, but having reinforcements is a must.

With Vincent Janssen still available, Spurs could raise their offer if other clubs do so to incite a bidding war and hopefully the Dutch international and AZ Alkmaar chooses Tottenham in the end over the other clubs. Thus giving Mauricio Pochettino three strikers on his squad to finally have some proper rotation.