Tottenham 'willing' to offer £62m for midfielder with 19 appearances for La Liga title contenders

Tottenham are said to be interested in a pricey La Liga midfielder as they look to strengthen significantly this summer. Spurs are in the midst of a season they already want to forget, currently stuck in the bottom half and without any realistic hope of challenging for European qualification through the Premier League.

Ange Postecoglou’s men can still secure European qualification through the Europa League, but they are going to have to win the competition. That does not look likely at this stage, but payers are returning from injury, so there is some hope, and especially after the weekend’s win over Manchester United.

This summer, Tottenham are likely to make a number of new signings as they look to add sufficient quality and depth, and that is whether Postecoglou is there or not. One midfielder Spurs are being linked with is Atletico Madrid star Pablo Barrios, who is still just 21 years of age.

According to Fichajes, Spurs believe Barrios could be an ‘important’ player, and it’s claimed they could be willing to offer £62million to get a deal done. Barrios is under contract until 2028 as things stand, and his release clause is at £82.8million, as reported by Estadio Deportivo. Chelsea have also been linked with a move recently.

Barrios has made 19 league appearances for Atleti this season, with 18 of those outings being starts. Atletico are currently third in the La Liga table, but they are just one point behind Barcelona at this stage.

Asked if Atleti can compete for the title back in December, Barrios told Cadena Ser: “Yes, yes. I said that at the beginning of the season when things weren't going well. I said that we had a great team with the people who came and those of us who were here, but this is a long time, we have to go little by little, game by game.”

Barrios is Madrid-born and came through the Atleti academy, albeit with brief spells elsewhere as a youngster, including with Real Madrid, and adored by the fans, it may not be easy to convince the midfielder to move on from the Civitas Metropolitano, not to mention Spurs would already be attempting to get Los Rojiblancos to accept a fee worth significantly less than the release clause.

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