Tottenham target Mauro Zarate comes under fire from Lazio manager Edy Reja

Lazio fear that striker Mauro Zarate may have had his head turned by links to Tottenham Hotspur. Reports in Italy claimed that Spurs were prepared to spend £16.5million on the Argentine hot shot as the transfer window was closing last month. In the thick of it: Lazio boss Edy Reja has been critical of striker Mauro ZarateThe 23-year-old, who has endured a testy relationship with Lazio and their fans, was substituted at half-time of his club's 3-1 win against Bologna on Sunday and manager Edy Reja admitted: 'I don't know what's happening to Zarate. Zarate kid: The Lazio striker scored four league goals during a loan spell with Birmingham 'He had his chances and is physically in good shape. He needs space and has great talent, but things aren't going his way at the moment. 'He loses the ball when dribbling, is making the simplest mistakes when passing and has visibly lost his confidence. He needs to regain his enthusiasm, motivation and certainty.' Zarate impressed during a loan spell at Birmingham City in 2008, but the Blues ditched plans for an extended deal after being relegated from the Barclays Premier League. Tottenham were on the lookout for a high-quality striker in the summer, failing with bids for Edin Dzeko and Luis Fabiano, but could not do a deal without finding buyers for the likes of Robbie Keane. Boss Harry Redknapp will assess his attacking options again in January.  Boost for Spurs as Modric is cleared after scan and will travel to Bremen World Football Blog: The latest news from across the continent  

Source: Daily_Mail