Daniel Levy's Imaginary Shortlist: Álvaro Negredo

Hello, kids, and welcome back to Imaginationland, a magical place where all our fondest dreams gather and frolic together, only to be crushed under the awful weight of soulless reality. Today we focus on Álvaro Negredo, the Spurs striking target most shaped like a hatchet.

The Basics

Name: Álvaro Negredo Sánchez

Age: 27

Team: Sevilla FC

League: La Liga (Spain)

Primary position: Striker

Can also play: The intro to "Stairway to Heaven," most of "Iron Man". Somehow hasn't figured out "Smoke on the Water" yet.

As Ashlock noted in his Strikers Wish List article in December, links between Negredo and Spurs have existed since the Juande Ramos era. But as Sevilla struggle with exorbitant debt, and with club president Jose María del Nido reportedly in London to try and offload a striker to one of Chelsea, Arsenal or Spurs, a transfer has never seemed more likely.

Related: Negredo a Tottenham target?

The Specifics

Álvaro Negredo is a tough nut to crack. At 6'1" and 191lbs., Negredo has good feet, tremendous balance and instinctual movement on and off the ball. Negredo is a product of Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid's youth systems, and after a brief stint at Almeria, was brought back to the Bernebau in 2009, only to be quickly sold on to Andalusian club Sevilla FC. Negredo, a native of Madrid, settled nicely into the side, scoring 26 goals during the 2010-11 season.

Last season's output was less prodigious; Negredo netted 14 goals in all competitions for los Rojiblancos, but currently Negredo seems to be back to his form of two seasons ago, having scored 11 goals in 18 appearances in La Liga and the Copa del Rey. YouTube evidence (for what that's worth) suggests that Negredo is mobile for a player his size, a good header of the ball with a surprisingly deft touch to compliment his powerful left foot.

The Verdict

Likely price: £18m

Probability that valuation is wrong: I struggle to imagine a world where Daniel Levy breaks the transfer record on Álvaro Negredo.Transfermarkt.co.uk has his valuation at £16m, though even that seems high. Make it closer to £14m and let's talk.

Team's willingness to sell: If its true that Sevilla's president is in London trying to offload the guy, I'd put the ol' "willingness to sell" meter at some level between Very High and OH SWEET WEEZUS TAKE HIM NOW.

Fit at Tottenham Hotspur: Pretty good. He fills a need we have, though I'm not convinced he's an upgrade on our current striking options.

Possibility he ends up at Spurs: As good as any of the other targets mooted here or elsewhere. Negredo is a talent, and he seems as able as any of our other striking targets to slot immediately into the team. If there were a pool on which striker would end up at THFC, I would feel comfortable putting money on the big Spaniard.

Grade if this transfer goes through at likely price: Solid B. Álvaro Negredo is a really good striker, but friends, he's probably not THE striker.

Follow @CartilageFree on Twitter | Like Cartilage Free Captain on Facebook