Tottenham Hotspur will abandon their pursuit of Roma striker Mattia Destro if he has not joined the club by the end of next week, Football Express News understands.
A source close to White Hart Lane told FEN that strengthening the strikeforce is a top priority and Destro remains the first choice target, but they are frustrated at the lack of progress made on the deal.
Spurs were given a boost last night when the player snubbed a move to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, but the urgency with which the north London outfit intend to improve their forward options means they will not wait much longer for an answer.
Roma are ready to cash in on the forward in order to balance the books, after landing Juan Iturbe from Hellas Verona.
If Spurs, who have still not replaced Jermain Defoe following his sale to MLS side Toronto FC in February, do swoop for Destro it will be the second successive summer they have raided Roma.
Just 12 months ago Tottenham paid a club record £30m for attacker Erik Lamela, who has so far failed to justify the huge outlay.
Lamela made only nine top-flight appearances and has not featured for Spurs since the 3-0 win against Stoke City on December 29 after suffering a serious back injury.
Spurs will hope for better things from Destro if they land him, as the 23-year-old plundered an impressive 13 goals in 20 appearances during the 2013-14 campaign.
He has three years remaining on his contract.