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Ancelotti said no to €40m Spurs bid for Napoli star

Ancelotti said no to €40m Spurs bid for Napoli star

Tottenham Hotspur were very interested in signing one particular Serie A star this summer, but Carlo Ancelotti intervened to block everything.

His name? Amadou Diawara, who wasn’t guaranteed starting time under Maurizio Sarri, but who has previously interested clubs like PSG and Bayern Munich, as well as Roma and Juventus.

The former Bologna midfielder was, the Corriere dello Sport writes, the subject of an approach by Tottenham, who were even ready to splurge €40 million this summer on the man who could replace Mousa Dembélé.

While the 30-year-old is nearing a move to the Chinese Super League, Diawara would have certainly replaced him in the physical sense - if not quite the technical.

Yet Carlo Ancelotti - who as Bayern manager wanted the 21-year-old back when he was barely 19 and at Bologna - refused to countenance anything, and Tottenham decided not to make an offer.

€40m is a lot for a kid who only started five Serie A games last season, though the transfer experts all see him having a very bright future…