While Real Madrid are pushing hard to get Paul Pogba this summer, they’ve also been looking at alternatives.
Christian Eriksen is the name back at the top of their list, with it widely reported that Florentino Perez views the Danish midfielder as a more viable signing than Pogba at this moment in time.
Spurs would be unhappy to lose Eriksen but his desire to move on makes the situation a little bit worrisome. If they have to sell they will and will then reinvest the money in the squad.
One of the potential replacements for Eriksen is Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos, a player who has been deemed surplus to requirements by Zinedine Zidane, and Perez is trying to use that to Madrid’s advantage with Eriksen.
El Desmarque report today that the Madrid chief is trying to negotiate a swap deal between the two clubs. However, he’s having some difficulty convincing Spurs because the clubs differ on valuation.
Madrid value Ceballos at €50m and Eriksen at €80m. They, therefore, have proposed a deal worth €30m and Ceballos for Eriksen. Spurs, though, disagree on the price for Eriksen. They rate their man at €100m, thus leaving a €20m gap in the negotiations.
Now, €20m may not seem a lot but Daniel Levy is a keen negotiator and he wants top money for one of Tottenham’s key men. Madrid know this and Desmarque say they know ‘convincing the British will not be easy’.
That may not be the only stumbling block either. Yesterday the same outlet reported that Ceballos was only interested in a loan move as he thinks he can prove himself at the Bernabeu. Likewise, it’s been widely reported that Madrid want to insert a repurchase option into any move for him.
This is not the first instance of a swap deal being on the table, though. Yesterday Desmarque claimed that Pochettino had asked for Mariano Diaz as well.
