Tottenham transfer target will be allowed to leave Real Madrid

In a move that is a little bit surprising, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that striker Alvaro Morata will be allowed to leave the club this summer.

The player has decided to leave in search of more minutes and the club has agreed it."

"If he gets the chance to play it will be good for him to have those opportunities for a year."

"If Morata goes then we'll have to think about signing a similar striker with the same characteristics, a youngster."

Ancelotti's quotes make it a bit ambiguous as to whether Morata's move would be permanent or a loan, but either way, Morata is being trailed by some of the biggest clubs in the world. Arsenal and Manchester United are both rumored to be interested in the 21 year-old, as are Juventus and Wolfsburg. Oddly enough, of those teams (and Tottenham), Arsenal are the on that could provide the most immediate playing time for Morata, given that their only striker is Olivier Giroud and the Frenchman, despite playing well last year, seemed to tire noticeably down the stretch.

Morata would be an excellent addition for Tottenham Hotspur, but one that probably shouldn't be first priority. Tottenham currently have three strikers—Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado, and Harry Kane—who have shown varying levels of competence. Adding a fourth, particularly a young star like Morata would likely mean the off-loading of one player, most probably Soldado or Adebayor, but could also block the development of 20 year-old Kane.

Morata at any price would probably be an excellent purchase, but Spurs really should be looking at shoring up their defense before we spend a bunch of our transfer budget on Morata. Unfortunately, the prospect of our rivals strengthening by adding him might force Tottenham to act by putting their "partnership" with Real Madrid to use.