Dele Alli to Real Madrid: Los Blancos plot incredible bid for Tottenham’s star midfielder in third raid on White Hart Lane in recent years
REAL MADRID are putting in place incredible plans to land Tottenham's Dele Alli - in their third swoop on Spurs in recent years.
The 20-year-old has been a revelation since joining White Hart Lane from MK Dons in 2015 and has taken the Premier League by storm.
If he were to move, he would follow in the footsteps of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale, who have both made the same move in recent years.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip ahead of the January window with SunSport's daily LIVE blog
Alli only signed a fresh contract in September, following magnificent form since his switch from League One.
He has also become one of the first players on the England team sheet, most memorably starring for the Three Lions in their 3-2 win over Germany in Berlin last year.
But Alli has been unable to help Spurs progress past the group stages of the Champions League this season, where they were bumped into the Europa League.
Real are currently serving a transfer ban for breaching rules on transfers of foreign players under the age of 18.
Los Blancos were initially banned for two transfer windows, along with their cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid, but successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a reduction to one.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has done all he can to fend off the likes of Real from pinching his star players.
While planning the construction of a new stadium at White Hart Lane, Levy has also carefully juggled the timings of contract renewals so that he has the funds in place to make the contracts work with the club's cashflow.
Keep up to date with ALL the Tottenham Hotspur news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Case in point was the £100,000-a-week renewal of Hugo Lloris last month. The Frenchman had been waiting for a new deal for months, despite being arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League.
But Levy also has the reputation of one of the shrewdest negotiators in football when it comes to selling players. His hold-out for £85million from Real for Bale in 2013 was a classic example.
A switch to the Bernabeu for Alli would also see him work with Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane, who the young Englishman has been compared to many times.
World Cup-winner Zidane was the star attacking midfielder of Juventus and Real during his heyday and won the biggest prize in international football in 1998 as well as Euro 2000.
Alli has been in fine form this season though, especially in the Premier League, where he renewed his telepathic partnership with Harry Kane in a 4-1 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.
Mauricio Pochettino said of Alli last month: "Alli has big potential to improve. No doubt he is, and will be one of the best players in England in the next 10, 12 years.
"England represents Europe and the world, it's the toughest and best competition in the world. If you are in England then you are one of the best in Europe."