Tottenham Hotspur may turn to Sassuolo striker Simone Zaza to help shift the goalscoring pressure from Harry Kane’s shoulders this window.
Zaza has impressed Spurs scouts with his feats at Sassuolo and the London club are reportedly keen on bringing him to White Hart Lane according to Sky Italia. Tottenham officials held talks with their correspondents at Sassuolo over Zaza on Thursday, to explore a possible deal; however they were informed that they may have to fend off Juventus, who have first refusal on Zaza, with an option to buy him for €15m at the end of this season or €18m at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
The 23-year-old Italian international has scored seven goals in 13 Serie A games this season. Because of third-party ownership in Italy, Sassuolo will have to be granted permission from Juventus to sell Zaza.
Spurs may be tempted to test the water and place a bid for the 23-year-old, who has four caps and one goal for Italy to his name - Sassuolo have Zaza under contract until 2019. Zaza is a player of a combative nature, picking up 15 yellow cards over the past one and a half seasons.
He was called into the Italian international side this September, replacing Mario Balotelli who was dropped following a poor start to his Liverpool career. Zaza is a player who likes to feed off of the ball, and is constantly on the move, something that has caught Mauricio Pochettino’s eye, and he sees Zaza as a potential partner for the inform Harry Kane.
Zaza is a runner, and may help develop Kane’s game to the next level if given the chance at White Hart Lane.