Real Madrid transfer news: Harry Kane and Gareth Bale set for swap?

Tottenham are said to be sweating, and it’s nothing to do with the April heatwave. Rather, says the Daily Star, they are alarmed from reports emanating from Spain to the effect that Real Madrid are “close” to luring Harry Kane to the Bernabeu.

The Spanish giants have never made any secret of their desire to land the England striker, who has scored 37 goals in all competitions this season, but Spurs have insisted the 24-year-old Kane is not for sale.

But according to Spanish outlet Don Balon that position may have shifted in recent weeks, and Spurs have allegedly told Real they “want £152m [€175m] for their star man”.

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That’s a fair whack, even for a club of Real’s resources, but they believe they may have come up with a cunning plan to lower the price, “by offering Tottenham Gareth Bale in a huge swap deal”.

It was only recently that Real coach Zinedine Zidane was declaring that Bale is happy in Spain but the Star says that in reality Real are ready to let the Welshman leave “due to a lack of form and another injury-plagued campaign”.

Whether Tottenham would want back a player who, in polite parlance, could now be described as ‘damaged goods’ is a moot point, but it seems Real president Florentino Perez is dead set on snaring Kane.

Apparently he believes the Tottenham goal machine is “the solution” to the stuttering form Real have suffered this season that has cost them the La Liga title and nearly saw them dumped out of the Champions League by Juventus.