Player who rejected Tottenham & Leeds in January is now struggling
Tottenham and Leeds were both rejected by Nicolo Zaniolo back in January as he opted for a move to Galatasaray.
It was Rudy Galetti who claimed that Spurs held talks over a deal for the Italy international.
Andrea Radrizzani – the Chairman at Elland Road – then actually admitted that Leeds wanted to sign Zaniolo.
However – after being encouraged to move to Turkey by Roberto Mancini – the forward ended up rejecting Tottenham and Leeds for Galatasaray.
Now, Nicolo Zaniolo is presumably regretting that decision as things turn sour.
What’s the story?
Well, the 23-year-old got off to a perfect start in Turkey with a goal on his debut, which sealed a 1-0 win for Galatasaray.
However, Okan Buruk has only handed Zaniolo one start in the Süper Lig since signing him from Roma in January, with his other eight appearances coming as a substitute.
The Italian’s frustrations appeared to spill over on Tuesday in Galatasaray’s 2-0 win over İstanbulspor.
Zaniolo was subbed on in the 69th minute, but lasted just six minutes before receiving a straight red card in the 75th minute.
As the January target for Tottenham and Leeds trudged off the pitch, he could be seen angrily kicking and punching the tunnel as his emotions boiled over.
Tottenham and Leeds dodged a bullet with Zaniolo
In our view, Tottenham and Leeds should be thankful that they missed out on Zaniolo.
With all due respect to Turkish football, the Süper Lig is nowhere near as challenging as the Premier League.
For example, the likes of Enner Valencia, Fabio Borini and Mbaye Diagne, all of whom struggled in England’s top-flight, are sitting in the top three positions in the scoring charts with 27, 19 and 18 goals respectively this season.
Therefore, with Zaniolo struggling to make an impact in Turkey, it seems unlikely that he would have done much in the Premier League.
