Report: Real Madrid To Convince Negredo To Stay At Cost Of Dutch Duo

Real Madrid implemented their €5 million buy-back option three weeks ago to bring Alvaro Negredo back to the Santiago Bernabeu from Almeria, but many had expected the 23-year-old to head for the exit straight away.

But Los Blancos’ collapsed deal to include him in a proposal to sign David Villa from Valencia gave the youngster a glimmer of hope to stay and feature in the first team. However, news of Karim Benzema’s expected arrival has thrown Negredo’s future into jeopardy again as he had previously stated that he will not accept being a club’s fourth-choice striker.

According to AS, Jorge Valdano had met with Florentino Perez yesterday and both agreed that if they can successfully sell off Ruud van Nistelrooy and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, they would hang on to Negredo and even utilise him as the main strike partner for Benzema, with Raul and Gonzalo Higuain either playing as a support forward or as the back-ups.

The sports daily has also reported that Huntelaar, who has recently been linked with a loan move to AC Milan, will now study three concrete offers: Manchester United, Wolfsburg and Galatasaray.  

The ‘White House’ will be hoping for nothing less than €20m to recoup the entire amount the club paid for him just seven months ago. The Red Devils would be favourites to agree to his asking price now that they are €94 million richer and desperate to find a replacement for Carlos Tevez.

German champions Woflsburg are also interested in reinforcing their frontline, led by Edin Dzeko and the €20m fee would not be out of their reach.

Galatasaray’s new coach, Frank Rijkaard, meanwhile, has made Huntelaar one of his top-priority signings for the summer and the Dutch connection could be a tempting prospect for the 25-year-old striker himself.

Van Nistelrooy is not short of admirers himself as numerous Premier League clubs, from Blackburn Rovers to Tottenham Hotspur, have already expressed their interests.

The 33-year-old will reportedly cost less than €2m but having played for United and Madrid, his wage demands are expected to be sky high and that has so far been the stumbling block.

KS Leong, Goal.com