Tottenham could reportedly face a battle to hold on to Dele Alli, as Real Madrid are constructing an offer for the England midfielder.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a stellar campaign last year, scoring 22 goals and providing 13 assists in 50 appearances in all competitions, and he’s started this season well too.
However, according to Don Balon, as re-reported by The Daily Star, he could be set to move on as Real Madrid are plotting a bid for him.
It’s claimed that Alli is high on president Florentino Perez’s wishlist and is wanted in January, although that could prove to be very difficult as Tottenham will likely have no interest in negotiating halfway through the season and will undoubtedly hope to avoid losing their star man at all.
Nevertheless, Los Blancos are said to be eyeing a swap deal with midfielder Mateo Kovacic heading in the opposite direction, with the 23-year-old struggling to make his mark at the Bernabeu since his move from Inter given the level of competition for places.
In more negative news, the report claims that Alli is keen on the idea of joining the European giants with a change in agent helping matters.
As a result, that could complicate things for Tottenham who will undoubtedly be keen to avoid losing any of their key players moving forward, but it seems as though they’ll come under pressure to keep Alli.
That doesn’t mean they can’t, as Liverpool showed this past summer with Philippe Coutinho that if a club is insistent about a player staying, regardless of whether it’s Barcelona knocking on the door, then they can make it happen.
Alli is under contract until 2022, but time will tell if he sees it out with Tottenham or moves on before then.