Nicolo Fagioli scouting report: Why Tottenham want him

Tottenham Hotspur have identified Fiorentina central midfielder Nicolò Fagioli as a summer transfer target, according to Corriere dello Sport, with the 25-year-old Italian international completing his first full season in Florence after a €13.5 million move from Juventus last summer. Here is everything you need to know about the midfielder De Zerbi’s side are tracking.

Fagioli’s emergence as a Tottenham target is no surprise to those who have watched him closely this season. Spurs’ midfield has been one of their most persistent problems across the past three seasons, lacking the kind of deep-lying orchestrator who can control tempo, recycle possession intelligently and provide the structural backbone that any well-functioning team needs in the middle of the park. Fagioli is precisely that player.

Nicolo Fagioli: player profile and background

Born on February 12, 2001 in Piacenza, Italy, Fagioli is 25 years old and plays as a central midfielder. He is 178 centimetres tall, right-footed and wears the number 44 shirt for Fiorentina. He spent the formative years of his development at Juventus, coming through their academy before making his Serie A debut for the club as a substitute against Crotone in February 2021 at the age of 20. Across 52 Serie A appearances at Juve, he scored three goals and provided five assists.

He made the permanent switch to Fiorentina in July 2025 for €13.5 million, with Juventus retaining a 10% sell-on clause in the deal. His current contract at Fiorentina runs until June 2028, earning him €1.8 million annually after tax. His transfer market value is currently assessed at €17.4 million.

Nicolo Fagioli: 2025-26 season stats

Fagioli has been one of Fiorentina’s most important and consistent performers in a season that has been turbulent for the Florentine club. He made 33 Serie A appearances, starting 28 of them and accumulating 2,554 minutes of league football. He contributed two goals and three assists, with an average FotMob match rating of 7.17 across the campaign.

Add his Conference League appearances and the picture becomes even more impressive in terms of volume: nine appearances, 455 minutes and a goal in European competition. In total, Fagioli made over 40 appearances across all competitions for a side that spent much of the season flirting with relegation before eventually securing their Serie A status.

The numbers that tell the real story of his quality are the passing metrics. He completes 89% of his passes and averages 2.95 key passes per game, placing him above 97% of Serie A central midfielders for expected assists per 90 minutes. For a player in a struggling side, those numbers represent an exceptional level of creative contribution from deep.

Nicolo Fagioli: tactical profile and strengths

Fagioli is a deep-lying playmaker in the truest sense. His primary function is to receive the ball in tight areas under pressure and immediately make the right decision, whether that is a short pass to maintain possession, a switch of play to change the angle of attack, or a progressive carry or through ball that unlocks the next phase. He does all three with consistent quality.

His passing range is the aspect of his game that stands out most clearly on film. Fagioli can play short combinations in compressed spaces and thread longer diagonal passes with the same level of accuracy, which gives his team multiple options when he is in possession. He scans the pitch constantly before receiving the ball, meaning his decision is almost always made by the time the pass arrives, a quality that separates elite midfielders from competent ones.

Positionally, he is intelligent without the ball. He finds pockets of space between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines, providing an easy target for his teammates to play into and then linking play forward. Fagioli is not the aggressive pressing midfielder who covers enormous distances at high intensity, but in a De Zerbi system built around positional control and passing combinations, that is not what he needs to be. He needs to be the anchor around whom the team’s possession game is built, and he is capable of exactly that.

Nicolo Fagioli can be overpowered physically in midfield battles, which has been a criticism levelled at him. In a more structured system with better defensive cover around him, that vulnerability is manageable. At a Tottenham side that has struggled precisely because its midfield has offered neither structure nor quality, the arrival of someone with Fagioli’s technical ceiling would represent a significant step forward regardless.

Nicolo Fagioli: the Tottenham transfer situation

Fiorentina consider Fagioli a central part of their plans going forward and will not be eager to lose him. The source article from Corriere dello Sport acknowledges that the club will struggle to turn down substantial offers, which suggests a fee significantly above his €17.4 million market valuation would be required to open serious negotiations. With Juventus retaining 10% of any future fee, Fiorentina will need to price him accordingly.

The critical caveat is Tottenham’s survival. If De Zerbi’s side are relegated, the ability to attract a player of Fagioli’s profile on a Championship wage structure becomes considerably more complicated. The player himself is unlikely to drop down a division at 25 with his Italy international career still very much active. Premier League survival is not just a prerequisite for Tottenham’s rebuild, it is a prerequisite for this specific transfer.