Spurs' former record signing could finalize transfer this week

Roberto Soldado's return to Spain finally looks likely to happen, and it could be finalized as early as this week. Spanish newspaper AS is reporting that Spurs and Villarreal are in the final stages of negotiating a deal that could take Soldado back to La Liga, where he experienced his greatest footballing successes.

The Spanish paper says the two clubs have agreed to a €17m transfer fee (just under £12m), but are still hashing out details surrounding payment plans. AS suggests that Tottenham want a good chunk of the transfer deal up front, while Villarreal is pushing back for an extended payment plan.

It should be noted that amortization of transfer fees are commonplace, at least in England, and most transfer fees are spread out in payments across the length of the player's new contract. Either way, this smacks more of haggling over details, when it appears the majority of the heavy lifting is done.

If Soldado does leave, and the Emmanuel Adebayor loan to Aston Villa goes through (which is now starting to feel like what waiting for Half-Life 3 to come out feels like), that will leave Tottenham Hotspur with only two recognized strikers on its roster -- Harry Kane and Shaquile Coulthirst. Three if you count Nacer Chadli. Which we don't.

As we've said before, we'll all cry when Bobby Soldier leaves us because despite everything he's still a straight-up guy who just didn't work out. That is until his first match at Villarreal when he bags a hat trick and looks like a world-beater again. That'll suck.