Real Madrid are reportedly ready to offer Mateo Kovacic to Tottenham in order to prise Dele Alli away from them in January.
According to a report by Spanish publication Don Balon, Dele Alli continues to remain the subject of interest from Real Madrid, who are keen to land him in the winter transfer window. In order to prise the Englishman away from Tottenham, Los Blancos are ready to offer Mateo Kovacic in return.
Alli has been a revelation for Tottenham ever since he joined the North London club from MK Dons in 2015, making the significant step up from third division to top flight seamlessly. In just over two seasons with Spurs, he has already made more than 100 appearances for the first-team, bagging 35 goals and 25 assists.
Having been an instrumental figure in Mauricio Pochettino’s side for successive positive Premier League campaigns, interest in Alli has consistently skyrocketed. While some of the biggest clubs in the world have shown an interest in him, Real Madrid have been linked the most heavily with the player.
The continued interest in Alli does come as a bit of a surprise though, especially with Marco Asensio establishing himself as a key component in the first-team setup. Additionally, Isco has been pivotal as an attacking midfielder as well, a role that the England international primarily assumes.
Dele Alli has now been directly involved in 21 goals in 26 Premier League games in 2017.
14 goals ⚽️
7 assists ?️ pic.twitter.com/hmD5EMyB5c— Squawka Football (@Squawka) September 23, 2017
Nevertheless, Florentino Perez is keen on making Alli his first Galactico signing since James Rodriguez in 2014. The report further claims that the 21-year-old is open to making the switch to Santiago Bernabeu as well, despite widespread rumours that he is set to sign a bumper new deal with Tottenham.
To sweeten the deal, Real Madrid are also willing to offer a player in return – Mateo Kovacic. The 23-year-old made his way to the Spanish capital in the summer of 2015, with a burgeoning reputation of being one of the most promising young midfielders in Europe.
Two years on though, the Croat has failed to establish himself as a regular in the first-team setup, managing to start just 27 games in La Liga since joining Los Blancos. Furthermore, Perez sees Kovacic as an expendable in order to finally bring Alli to the Bernabeu.
Therefore, they are ready to offer the midfielder to Tottenham, who have held an interest in him for a long time. In fact, Spurs even had a €25 million bid rejected for Kovacic this past summer, with a view to strengthen a slim midfield roster.
But, with midfield being a position that Pochettino failed to reinforce in the recently closed window, Real Madrid’s sweetener could just help them clinch the deal. However, Tottenham will not entertain any offers in the winter transfer window, although it remains to be seen if any possible deal can take place next summer.
