3 road blocks facing Spurs’ pursuit of Juventus-owned striker

After Roberto Soldado flunked his latest audition to lead Tottenham’s line on a permanent basis against Manchester City, the transfer rumours linking the Lilywhites with goal-scoring cavalry this January have ramped up a notch.

Emmanuel Adebayor is in a funk and Harry Kane is only still emerging as a Premier League front man, leaving Mauricio Pochettino little choice but to look for a saviour come the winter window.

One potential option is Sampdoria’s Italy U21 international Manolo Gabbiadini, who has caught the eye this season with four goals in five Serie A appearances for the third-place side.

That fast start to the season comes on the back of his nine-goal, four-assist haul for the Blucerchiati last term.

His record of 12 goals in 24 U21 appearances for the Azzurri adds more weight to Gabbiadini’s growing reputation within the game, which is just one factor in a trio of problems Spurs may face in chasing the Calcinate native.

A continued period of success will only attract more of the continent’s top clubs, with Atletico Madrid already a known competitor for the forward’s signature.

Then there’s the small matter of Juventus co-owning Gabbiadini with Sampdoria, who aren’t likely to allow one of the game’s biggest young prospects to escape their clutches without either significant remuneration, if at all.

Finally there’s the player himself, who has regressed on his openness to a January move and has instead, via his agent, said that he won’t be going anywhere until the end of the season in order to focus on his development at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Following their 4-1 defeat to City last time out, Tottenham are now 11/2 with Ladbrokes to finish in the top four this season.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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