Spurs £9.09m offer turned down

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and struggling Premier League rivals Chelsea are scouting 18-year-old (19 next July) Amadou Diawara, according to reports in Italy.

Naturally he has been described as a teen sensation, anyone who pays as a teenager seems to be described as a sensation these days. Fans then simply assume that is true and think he has to be signed getting themselves all upset when a transfer doesn't happen. The same applies to other young players, take Berahino, he is just a decent youngster with potential, he is no world beater yet many a fan are up in arms because we won't pay an inflated price he simply isn't worth yet. 

Diawara is an 18-year-old defensive midfielder with Bologna in Serie A and has been linked with Juventus, Inter and AC Milan in Italy, all of whom are scouting him. .Some reports say Chelsea have made an enquiry for the Guinean, while others say they have an agreement in place. 

Agent Pini Zahavi, who has been involved in some of the most expensive and controversial transfers, has close links with Blues owner Roman Abramovich. According to Gianluca do Marzio, a Sky reporter, Zahavi has come to an agreement with Diawara's agent, Robert Visan. The British press report that as a near certain deal, the Italian press report it as almost immaterial to any transfer. 

Italian source TMW, Tottenham are the latest side to express an interest in Diawara. They report that Tottenham have has an £9.09-million (US$13.91 - AUS$19.27 - €13m) offer turned down. They also comment that Bologna director of football Pantaleo Corvino and Adriano Galliani, the CEO of AC Milan have a great friendship which could aid any deal.

While Mauricio Pochettino may be keen to build a dynamic young squad at White Hart Lane he may well have to look elsewhere. With the emergence of Eric Dier, there is no rush and Spurs can find a player with the right qualities and the right potential at the right price. We will miss out on some players, that's football, every club misses out on players. It isn't the end of the world and it isn't anyone holding us back.

Bologna are naturally keen to keep hold of a promising player they have plucked from boys football in Africa and nurtured. He is under contract with them until 2020 so there is no rush to sell, that will only happen when they feel the price is right for them. 

Will we return with another bid? Spurs, like any club, value players themselves and if a deal can be done near our valuation then a transfer becomes a possibility, if it can't a transfer possibility recedes. Simply paying what a club demand is not a transfer strategy that is going to keep a club in business, no club simply pays what we demand for a player do they? 

Far from being Daniel Levy holding the club back, he is simply doing what every other chairman does, look for the best deal for his club. We over value players so the price we drop to is a good one for us, that is exactly how other clubs operate, Southampton do exactly the same thing and have been very successful at it over the past couple of years. Jeremy Peace is doing it at WBA, Crystal Palace are quoting silly figures for Bolasie, not that we have much interest in him.

What do Bologna want? Apart from not selling, I would suspect they wouldn't want to negotiate below £14-million (US$21.38 - AUS$29.56 - €20m), that's the way the market is going now. Clubs want a fortune for players who haven't achieved anything.

Christmas is almost upon us and so a gift for the Tottenham supporter you know is a must. Visit the Football-Shop.net and get those presents early. For a football fan you simply can't go wrong. Everyone loves to have a cuppa in their Spurs mug (7 to choose from), especially on a match day, it's part of the ritual. A cover for his phone, a key ring, there are plenty of items you can put together to personalise him without going over the top,

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