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Spurs open talks with Real Madrid for Croatian midfielder

Spurs open talks with Real Madrid for Croatian midfielder

Tottenham Hotspur has opened talks with Real Madrid over 22-year-old Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic. The player, who made 27 appearances for the Spanish champions last season, is frustrated at his lack of regular first-team action at the Santiago Bernabeu and could be tempted by the promise of more starting opportunities with the Premier League side.
 
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has been quiet on the transfer market so far this summer but Starsport claims that Kovacic has a profile that the Argentine tactician likes and he is understood to have instructed club chiefs to commence negotiations. Kovacic is likely to cost Spurs £22M but chairman Daniel Levy knows that this amount will not trouble the bank manager having just collected around £50M for the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City.
 
The North London side also have their eye on another Croatian international in the shape of Dinamo Zagreb defender Filip Benkovic. The highly-rated 20-year-old is believed to be available for around £13.5M and Spurs look to be leading the chase for his signature.