Tottenham fans have every right to feel a little nervy about rumours linking Dele Alli with Real Madrid.
The 20-year-old’s 12 goals in all competitions this season has inevitably attracted attention, but Spurs are adamant that their star players are not for sale.
Michael Owen knows exactly what it’s like to swap the Premier League for the La Liga giants, and while he thinks the former MK Dons midfielder is talented enough to play for Los Blancos, his current club won’t have to sell.
“Teams like Real Madrid only come calling for one player every so often, Gareth Bale was the last big one to go and they’ve got to be exceptional because to improve that squad is not easy,” he told Squawka.
“But Dele Alli is certainly a player that you could see having the ability to play for a club like Real Madrid. Whether he wants to test himself abroad is another matter and whether Spurs would let him go is another.
“I think Spurs used to be a selling club, they let Bale go, (Dimitar) Berbatov, (Robbie) Keane, (Luka) Modric, (Michael) Carrick all got pinched off them, there was loads of players leaving at the time, but they are a different animal now.
“They’ve got their eyes fixed on winning the Premier League now and to do that you’ve got to keep your best players, so it would be a fight for anyone to get their players now.”
Spurs may be particularly reluctant to sell to Madrid after previously cutting short an agreement the two clubs held.
Real seemed to offer Spurs nothing in return for gaining priority on Modric and Bale, and days later sold Mesut Ozil to rivals Arsenal.
That may strengthen Daniel Levy’s resolution to hold onto Alli, but of course, it may depend on the starlet’s own ambitions and whether Mauricio Pochettino can convince him he’ll achieve them in north London.
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