By JUSTIN FERGUSON
After agreeing to a deal for Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, Tottenham Hotspur are looking at another Spanish forward to come to White Hart Lane—if they send Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in a world-record move.
Reports in England indicate Tottenham want Real Madrid to add the highly-touted Alvaro Morata to their bid for star winger Gareth Bale. Real Madrid have already made a record €100 million ($132 million) for the defending PFA Player of the Year.
Although the extraordinary cash offer was not enough to get Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to accept, Real have shown a willingness to offer players from their deep roster to make the move happen.
Even though Real have made Fabio Coentrao and Angel Di Maria available as part of the transfer, Tottenham reportedly want Morata. The 20-year-old won the Golden Boot during Spain’s title run at this summer’s UEFA Under-21 Championship and is heralded as the “number nine of the future” at the Bernabeu.
Here are some more stories to get you through your Thursday:
LEWANDOWSKI FEELS “CHEATED” BY DORTMUND
The drama surrounding Robert Lewandowski’s potential move from Borussia Dortmund to rivals Bayern Munich took an interesting turn following a recent interview, but Dortmund management still believes the striker will stay and perform well for them this season.
Lewandowski recently told a newspaper in his home country of Poland that he has felt “cheated” by Dortmund this summer. Dortmund, who fell to Bayern in the UEFA Champions League final in may, rejected a transfer bid from the defending champions earlier in the transfer window.
“No matter how hard I will train and what I will do, the feeling that I’ve been cheated will still be there,” Lewandowski told Rzeczpospolita earlier this week.
Despite Lewandowski’s comments, Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp told German media that he felt like the Polish striker would play well for the club in the final year of his contract. Lewandowski, who reportedly turned down a large pay raise with Dortmund, was an active threat on Bayern’s defense during Dortmund’s German Super Cup win last Saturday.
“For me what he does is a thousand times more important than what he says because what he does needs no interpretation,” Klopp said on Thursday. “I am convinced we will clear up everything in the coming days.”
MARCHISIO WANTS TO END CAREER AT JUVENTUS
After receiving attention from defending EPL champions Manchester United and free-spending Monaco, Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio told reporters that he would like to end his career with his boyhood club—but anything can happen in the world transfer market.
“My dream is to still end my career with Juventus,” Marchisio said on Thursday. “Even if I know that in football, you never know.”
On Wednesday, reports in England indicated that Manchester United were going to submit a £26 million ($39.5 million) bid for Marchisio as a move for Barcelona’s Cesc Fabregas looks more unlikely by the day.
The 27-year-old Italian international, currently in the United States for the International Champions Cup, has been a part of the Juventus system since he was seven years old. After a successful loan to Empoli in the 2007-08 season, Marchisio has become one of the fan favorites with the defending Italian champions.
ITALIAN CLUB SASSULO, MILAN’S CONSTANT FINED AFTER LATEST RACIAL ABUSE INCIDENT
For AC Milan, 2013 has had several notorious incidents of racial abuse against their own players, from Kevin Prince-Boateng in January to Mario Balotelli in May.
On Thursday, fines were handed down in the latest incident to affect Milan’s black players.
Officials of the Italian league fined U.S. Sassuolo €30,000 ($40,000) for “racially discriminatory chants” during a friendly against AC Milan last month. Milan’s Kevin Constant, a French-born Guinean player, was fined the same amount for kicking the ball into the stands and walking off the field after hearing the chants.
Fans of Sassuolo, who will join Milan in Serie A for the first time this season after winning Serie B, chanted at Constant while he took a throw-in during the friendly. Police officers sitting nearby reportedly joined in the abuse of Constant.
QUICK KICKS
Fernando Gago, who signed with Real Madrid for €20 million ($26.4 million) in 2006, has returned to Argentina’s Boca Juniors in a €1.7 million ($2.2 million) move from Valencia. (REPORT)
Barcelona have confirmed that winger Cristian Tello has extended his contract through the 2018 season. (REPORT)
Scottish club Hearts has been hit with another transfer embargo, this one lasting until February 2014. (REPORT)
The official 2014 World Cup countdown clock in Rio De Janeiro has been stuck on 365 days remaining for the past several weeks. (REPORT)
New Atalanta midfielder Giulio Migliaccio is currently under investigation by the Italian football federation for allegedly helping club supporters run over two cars with a tank. (REPORT)
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What do you think of these reports? See Real Madrid offering Morata as part of their bid for Bale? Agree with Lewandowski’s comments? Think Marchisio will stay at Juventus this summer?
Share your thoughts below.