Tottenham are turning up the heat on Real Madrid star

Tottenham aren’t going to wallow in misery after losing the Champions League final. They’re already working hard on a big purchase from Real Madrid.

Christian Eriksen isn’t the only player who may be moving between Tottenham and Real Madrid this summer. Spurs are also interested in acquiring talent from the La Liga giants. Dani Ceballos is a prime target for Mauricio Pochettino and company.

Spurs fans might still be struggling with the emotions of losing in the Champions League final to Liverpool, but that’s not a luxury club officials can afford. Daniel Levy and the club’s recruitment team are already squarely in the midst of trying to strengthen the squad to enjoy a banner 2019/20 campaign.

One of Tottenham’s biggest priorities this summer will be strengthening their midfield. The January sale of Mousa Dembele left Spurs a little light in that department last season. Football Insider reports that club officials have already met in person with Real Madrid star Dani Ceballos about a move that would bring him to the Premier League club.

At this point, it’s unclear whether or not Pochettino and his staff view Ceballos as a potential replacement for Eriksen or as a midfielder who would thrive playing in a deeper position. Most of his action for Real Madrid was playing in a conventional midfield three. It’s possible that Spurs are looking to transition to a 4-3-3 next season. That move would fit their attacking personnel perfectly, but would require the purchase of at least one more top-class midfielder.

Ceballos doesn’t seem to be a major cog in Zinedine Zidane’s future plans. Real Madrid could be giving up on the 22-year-old too soon though. He was trusted to start 13 La Liga matches last season. The Spaniard isn’t a world-class player at this stage of his career, but Pochettino has a penchant for coaxing magic out of young players. That’s clearly the motive for Spurs in these talks.

Undoubtedly, Real Madrid will try to tie any potential Ceballos move to the Eriksen transaction. Given the Dane’s unwillingness to sign a new deal, Tottenham may be amenable to some type of swap move. Spurs would certainly require a significant amount of cash to be included in the transaction. Los Blancos might realistically expect to get somewhere around £40 million for Ceballos on the open market, but that’s well short of the £100 million Spurs will expect to get for Eriksen.

Nothing is imminent for Tottenham on the Ceballos front, but the fact that club officials have met with him in person is a signal of significant interest. It’s certainly a situation to monitor closely moving forward.