Tottenham are planning a bid for AS Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic, according to the Mirror. The report claims Spurs will spend £15m on the Bosnian international and that negotiations will be led by the club's new director of football, Franco Baldini.

Miralem Pjanic (R)
Reuters

Baldini worked with the 23-year-old while at the Serie A club and believes he can use old contacts to persuade the midfielder to swap Rome for London. However, he will have his work cut out. Pjanic has previously been targeted by Manchester City and Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal but turned down all offers to stay with the Giallorossi.

"I don't want to leave. Everyone at the club knows that. I want to give everything to start the season well. I don't know about the financial situation. A new contract? It doesn't happen overnight. We're talking. The desire is there and we'll see what happens," he told the club's website in July.

Pjanic also accepted he may not start every match and said he trusted his manager, Rudi Garcia.

"There are a number of us and whoever is on form will be in the team. The coach will find the right system. We need to do what we can to let the new signings settle. Then it'll be up to the coach to decide who to pick. It's always nice to have big names in the squad," he concluded.

The midfielder scored thrice and created five goals from 19 league starts last season and scored twice in last mid-week's pre-season friendly against Major League Socer (MLS) side Toronto FC; Roma won 4-1. His performances over the past 12 months earned him attention from Spanish champions Barcelona in January, according to the Mail Online.

Meanwhile, Spurs continue to wait on the future of Welsh winger Gareth Bale. The 24-year-old winger is poised to become a world record signing, with Spanish giants Real Madrid eager to sign the player.

A deal in excess of £100m has been mooted but sources suggest the Santiago Bernabeu club may be reconsidering the excessive fee demanded by Spurs president Daniel Levy.

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