Tottenham have offered Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez a £6-million-a-year deal to join the north London club, according to reports in Spain.
The deal, which would make the 21-year-old Spaniard the highest earner in the club’s history, would be in addition to a transfer fee expected to be in the region of £36m.
Marca report that Spurs have assured Saul that he could earn £6m a season after tax if he were to join Mauricio Pochettino’s young squad at White Hart Lane.
Having featured prominently for Diego Simeone’s side since breaking into the starting lineup towards the end of 2015, Saul announced his presence to the whole of Europe with a stunning goal during Atletico’s Champions League semi final victory over Bayern Munich.
Tottenham meanwhile, having come up slightly short in their title race with Premier League champions Leicester City, are looking to add quality and depth to a squad which has shown vulnerability when key midfielders, most notably Mousa Dembele, have been missing.
While Saul is a more offensive player than Dembele, his creativity and composure on the ball would undoubtedly improve a squad which Pochettino hopes can challenge for the Premier League title again.
However, Spurs are said to face competition from others to capture Niguez, while Atletico are far from resigned to losing their youth academy product.
The Champions League finalists’ chairman Enrique Cerezo remains confident they can hold onto the midfielder.
“Saul has a contract with us,” Cerezo said.
“He’s a player from our academy and is Atletico through and through. From what I know, and from what he himself has told me, he wants to stay with us.”
Tottenham face Newcastle on Sunday in a game they are likely to require a point from to secure second place, and perhaps more importantly to the club’s fans, finishing above north London rivals Arsenal.
They will once again be without Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli, who are both suspended for the remainder of the Premier League season, and in Dembele’s case, beyond.
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