Tottenham in talks to sign Konoplyanka, says Dnipro president

Tottenham are in talks to sign Ukraine star Yevhen Konoplyanka, according to the Dnipro club president.

Konoplyanka was linked with moves to Liverpool and Tottenham during the January transfer window, but a deal failed to materialise on transfer deadline day.

Liverpool have been expected to rekindle their interest in the winger this summer, but Tottenham are now leading the chase for the 24-year-old and are in discussions with Dnipro president Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

Kolomoyskyi has claimed he is talking to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and that a deal could be close to being concluded, suggesting Spurs would be a better choice than Liverpool for the highly-rated attacker.

"I have contact with the Tottenham president. I am talking with him," Kolomoyskyi told Ukrainian TV channel '2+2'.

"He is interested in Konoplyanka. We are in the stage of negotiations and are perhaps close to signing a contract if Yehven agrees.

"I would choose Tottenham - London - not Liverpool. There are matches only once or twice a week, and at other times he will still need somewhere to live.

"I believe London life is preferable to Liverpool."

Kolomoyskyi also blamed Liverpool for failing to seal a deal in January for Konoplyanka and he admits he will not stand in the player's way to move on.

"I talked with Konoplyanka. Of course, he had regrets, but [move to Liverpool] failed purely due to technical reasons," added Kolomoyskyi.

"I'm ready to let any player leave; we can't break his sports career. But on the final day, Liverpool failed to do a deal. They failed themselves. It was purely technical reasons.

"I'm ready to let go of any player because we cannot break a career, we cannot break players' destiny."