Tottenham will not agree to take Real Madrid starlet on loan

Tottenham are very interested in signing Dani Ceballos outright this summer, but they won’t accept the Real Madrid midfielder on a straight loan deal.

Dani Ceballos may very well be the next addition for Mauricio Pochettino’s summer reconstruction of Tottenham’s midfield. The talented Spaniard won’t be moving to North London unless Spurs have a concrete opportunity to purchase him from Real Madrid.

That appears to be the one sticking point remaining between the two clubs as it relates to Ceballos’ future. According to AS (via the Daily Mail), the talented midfielder has elected to snub AC Milan and join Spurs. The only problem with his decision is that, for the moment, Real officials only want to loan him to the Premier League club.

The chances of Pochettino and company accepting a straight loan deal are very slight. The Argentine gaffer prides himself on molding young talent into stars, but he won’t invest serious time, effort and money in a player who could simply go back to the Spanish capital after one year at Tottenham.

It’s very possible that Ceballos will head to Spurs initially on a loan deal, but there must be an option to buy to make the contract acceptable to Tottenham. A potential transfer fee of £45 million has been rumoured for the Spanish U21 star, but it’s unclear whether or not Daniel Levy is ready to stump that sort of fee.

There have also been rumours about a swap deal between the two clubs involving Christian Eriksen and Ceballos. That idea makes some sense, but Zinedine Zidane is not convinced the talented Dane is the right player to take his squad to the next level. It’s far more likely that any deal involving Ceballos will be made entirely separate from Eriksen.

If Ceballos does want to push through a move to Tottenham, he may need to urge Real Madrid officials to move quickly. Giovani Lo Celso is also a prime target of Pochettino’s, and there may not be room for both in the Spurs’ squad next season. That dynamic could change if Eriksen does depart, but the timing and finances of adding both midfielders could prove tricky for Tottenham.

The good news for Spurs fans is that exciting young talents seem to be lining up to spend their formative years at Tottenham.. Don’t be surprised if Ceballos is the next exciting young prospect to blossom under Pochettino in England.