Tottenham came close to signing Ruslan Malinovskyi from Atalanta in the January transfer window.
The Athletic believe Fabio Paratici – Director of Football at Spurs – was keen to sign the Ukraine international, and the player himself was also interested in moving to north London.
However, Tottenham wanted an initial loan deal, whereas Atalanta were only willing to sell Malinovskyi on a permanent basis, and he eventually joined Marseille for just €13m (£12m).
