Tottenham Hotspur and Mauricio Pochettino have been handed a transfer blow.
Despite smashing the club's transfer record with the signing of Tanguy Ndombele for £63m earlier in the month, manager Mauricio Pochettino remains in the market for another midfielder.
Among those linked include Real Betis' Giovani Lo Celso and Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos.
One further name in the mix is AS Roma's Nicolo Zaniolo and there's been talk of a swap deal which would see Toby Alderweireld - out of contract next summer - head in the opposite direction to the Stadio Olimpico.
However, the Serie A outfit's Roma director Gianluca Petrachi has delivered the north London outfit some bad news.
"I told off Zaniolo, like a father would to a son, with all the affection in this world, to get his head back on his shoulders, but immediately people said that meant putting him on the market," said Petrachi, as per Football Italia .
"I have to work to get the best out of Zaniolo and my job isn’t just buying and selling players, as I have direct contact with the squad. I see them every day and consider them to be teammates.
"It's not right that every word we say gets built up into some giant story.
"I understand your point of view, but I never put Zaniolo on the market.
"I can’t rule anything out either, because nobody thought Juventus would sell Zinedine Zidane and yet they did.
"What I can say is that today Zaniolo is not on the market. We evaluate everything, but must also be clear."
With Zaniola not on the market, could that prompt Pochettino and Daniel Levy to focus their attentions on one of the two aforementioned midfielders before deadline day next month?
Betis manager Rubi has dropped a hint on Lo Celso's future at the club, while Marca claim Spurs have agreed a deal with Los Blancos to sign Ceballos on loan for the upcoming season.
