CalcioMercato have revealed that Atalanta have ‘warned’ Tottenham Hotspur that €15m (£12.8m) will not be enough to snap up Ruslan Malinovskyi in January.
Malinovskyi has come off the bench as a second-half substitute for the majority of his 14 Serie A appearances this season but his days at Atalanta appear to be numbered, with his current contract running out next summer (Transfermarkt).
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Reports from Italy over recent weeks have indicated that Spurs are in ‘pole position’ to win the race for the Ukranian’s signature (Sport Mediaset).
CalcioMercato have now shed light on Malinovskyi’s situation, stating that Atalanta need to raise funds to make moves for their transfer targets and view the 29-year-old as ‘the most expendable’ player.
However, it is explained that the Serie A club will not be willing to sell the attacking midfielder on the cheap and they have warned Tottenham that it would take a bid of at least €18m (£15.4m) for the negotiations to begin.
The report adds that Marseille, who were previously interested in Malinovskyi, have already pulled out of the race on hearing Atalanta’s asking price for the former Genk man.
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Tottenham will certainly not be held to ransom by Atalanta as we know that Fabio Paratici tends to identify multiple targets for each position. So, if Spurs find Atalanta’s asking price to be unreasonable for a player who is out of contract in the summer, they will likely turn their attention to Weston McKennie or someone else.
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