Villa emerges as a transfer target for Atletico.
Barcelona forward David Villa has been a long-term target for Tottenham Hotspur but now Atletico Madrid are eyeing up the Spaniard as a replacement for Radamel Falcao, according to Mundo Deportivo.
This news will displease Spurs fans who were looking forward to the 31-year-old arriving at White Hart Lane in the near future.
However, following the departure of Falcao to AS Monaco in a £50m deal, Atletico have been trying to find a new striking force – with Alvaro Negredo a former target before the Sevilla man edged towards a switch to Manchester City.
Now the club from the Spanish capital have turned their attention to Villa, who Barca are keen to sell due to the Spain international’s impending expiration of his contract in 12 months time.
Yet the La Liga champions will not accept less than £8.6m for the striker, having paid £34.4m for the former Valencia star just three years ago.
It’s likely that Atleti have turned to Villa due to the forward’s impressive goal-scoring record over the past decade, having scored 157 goals in the top tier in Spain in 276 matches since 2003.
The Barca man is also his nation’s all-time top-scorer and has netted an impressive 56 times in 91 caps for the Spanish national team – which has helped the country to successive European Championship victories and a maiden World Cup triumph in 2010.
However, the striker has struggled with injury at the Nou Camp over the past few seasons and that, coupled with the continued genius of Lionel Messi has made Villa’s opportunities in Catalonia limited.
See just what Villa is capable of with this stunning strike against Real Madrid.
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