Premier League pair battle for Spanish hitman

Sports - September 25, 2007

The Rumour

Tottenham have tabled a £17million bid for ‘The Wild Animal’.

Spurs want to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo whose nickname is ‘The Wild Animal of Vallecas’.

Negredo’s agent Alejandro Camano claims several clubs from England and Spain have shown an interest with Tottenham well ahead in the queue for the 23-year-old.

Negredo, whose pet name comes from the Vallecas neighbourhood where he grew up in Madrid, scored 19 goals playing on loan for Almeira last season and has previously attracted the attention of Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

The Source: (Daily Mirror)

The Analysis

Alvaro Negredo looks set to leave the Bernabeu after essentially only being bought back from his successful spell at Almeria because they realized they could cash in one of last seasons Top La Liga finishers and both Tottenham and Liverpool have shown very real interest in the 23 year old forward.

More often than not Negredo has been linked with swap deals to bring in more big names to Real Madrid with Rafa considering offering Alvaro Arbeloa in return according to some reports. The striker originally joined the club’s B team before being loaned out to minnows Almeria where he proved to be a stunning success and helping the newly promoted side to successive respectable mid table finishes.

Many believe that Fernando Torres could do with some help up front and the powerfully built workhorse could well form a good partnership with the Anfield man. However Harry Redknapp also feels the need to freshen up his attack and looks likely to offload at least half of his international level quartet of strikers.

The Likelihood

Negredo to Liverpool/Tottenham: It seems very likely that the Real man will leave given the big names already in front of him in the first team queue, but it remains to be seen who will be the first club to get a bid accepted for the up and coming talent.

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