Real Madrid are preparing a player plus cash deal to lure Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen to the Santiago Bernabeu.
According to a report from The Sun, Los Blancos are planning an offer of £45m plus Dani Ceballos which they hope will be enough to land their midfield target.
Meanwhile, in the Spanish capital, the club president, Florentino Perez is aware of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) threat amidst the Galacticos’ recent spending spree.
As a result, he is offering his young star to balance the books and at the same time prise away Eriksen from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a single move.
The 22-year-old Ceballos, who will be 23 before the next season kicks off in August, is currently on national team duty at the Euro U-21 Championships held in Italy.
He scored 3 goals and assisted 2 more in 34 appearances across all competitions in the recently concluded campaign for Los Blancos.
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Ceballos moved from Real Betis to the capital club back in the summer of 2017 and has since found it difficult to establish himself as a starter at Santiago Bernabeu.
The young Spaniard was highly reputed at the time and attracted interest from numerous other clubs, including Madrid’s fierce rivals in Barcelona.
Eriksen who has enjoyed recent years playing under the Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed his intentions of leaving the club looking for a new challenge.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, however, doesn’t seem impressed with the Dane’s decision.
Eriksen who has a single year left on his contract is currently valued at €100m (according to Transfermarkt) in the current market and it is hard to believe that Levy, who is usually a tough nut to crack, would settle for a price lower than that.
A £45m (roughly €50m) bid offered by the Galacticos plus Ceballos who is currently evaluated at €30m will eventually end up falling short of the apparent valuation of Eriksen.
From an economic point of view, it makes less sense but swapping a 27-year-old who could move on a free next summer for a 22-year-old promising player sounds like a deal Levy wouldn’t want to dismiss so early in the making.
Dani has a long way to go before he can be compared to the polished Eriksen but he is still highly rated and with a manager like Pochettino at the helm who boasts a reputation for developing youth, this could be an excellent move for all parties involved.
However, there is a high-risk factor involved with the Spaniard’s inexperience on the big stage.
Filling in Eriksen’s big boots in the centre of the park is no menial task plus the expectations will be through the roofs next season after Spurs’ recent Champions League campaign.
Moving to a new country and a demanding Premier League could prove to be an ordeal Ceballos might find hard to overcome seeing he has spent his entire career in Spain. Thus, looking at the current scenario even if Levy does sanction this deal at some point in the transfer window, Spurs will still be in the market to try and land a more like for like replacement for their highly productive midfielder.
Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt