Tottenham land Roberto Soldado in £25.8m club record deal

Striker jets in on four-year contract
The Spanish striker has scored 6 goals in 11 games for his country and managed 30 goals in 46 appearances in La Liga last season
AFP
1 August 2013

Tottenham are poised to break their transfer record for the second time in less than a month after agreeing a £25.8million deal with Valencia for Roberto Soldado.

Liverpool were also interested in the 28-year-old Spain striker but he was travelling to London this afternoon to take his medical and is set to agree terms on a four-year contract.

The deal has been in the offing in the last few days and a statement from Spurs read: “We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Valencia for the transfer of Roberto Soldado subject to medical.”

Andre Villas-Boas has been desperate to strengthen his front line after relying heavily on the goals of Real Madrid target Gareth Bale last term.

Jermain Defoe managed 15 goals in 43 games while Emmanuel Adebayor only scored eight in 34.

In contrast, Soldado scored 30 times in 46 games for Valencia last season, taking his overall tally to 80 goals in 146 games for them. He has also netted six times in 11 games for Spain.

Former Spurs midfielder Ossie Ardiles believes the Spaniard will be a success in the Premier League and likens him to Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. He said: “I have seen him quite a lot and he is very, very similar to Suarez. He is very tricky and very inteligent. He will be great for us.”

At the start of last month, Spurs broke their transfer record when they paid Corinthians £17m for Paulinho.

Meanwhile, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed today they are in talks over a £100m transfer for Bale.

As Standard Sport revealed on Tuesday, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is prepared to sell if the Spanish club break the £100m barrier.

Spanish newspaper AS today claimed a fee of 120m euros (£105m) has been agreed but added that a deal would not be completed until Spurs sign some new players.

But significantly, Ancelotti has revealed negotiations are under way and said: “I believe the club is in talks to find a solution and we will see what happens.

“It is difficult to talk about Bale because at the moment he is not a Real Madrid player. I am not used to talking about players who are not in my team and it would not be right to do so.”

Standard Sport revealed earlier this week that Levy wants the fee paid in cash rather any players come the other way in part exchange.

Madrid are struggling to afford the staggering transfer fee and Fabio Coentrao, Angel Di Maria, Luka Modric and Alvaro Morata have all been mentioned as possible candidates for a switch to White Hart Lane.

But it is believed Tottenham coach Andre Villas-Boas does not want Coentrao or Di Maria, while Levy is not interested in Modric returning to the club.

As for striker Morata — top scorer at the European Under-21 Championship — he has been earmarked as back-up to Karim Benzema following the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli.

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