Real Madrid have obligation to sign top players amid links to 'outstanding' Spurs striker Harry Kane

Ex-Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes his former club would probably like to sign "outstanding" Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, as they are compelled to secure such high-profile players in order to maintain their lofty billing in the pecking order of world football.

Rumours that Kane is being lined up as a future 'Galactico' have ramped up of late after England's sole 2017 Ballon d'Or nominee recovered from another curious August drought to plunder 15 goals in just 10 appearances for club and country.

After being described as a "complete player" by Zinedine Zidane, the 24-year-old embarked upon a potential audition of sorts on Tuesday night (17 October) as Tottenham visited the Santiago Bernabeu for the first match of an intriguing Champions League Group H double-header that will conclude at Wembley Stadium on 1 November.

While joint-tournament top scorer Kane did not add to his five-goal European tally in the Spanish capital, he still produced an important performance, and it was his presence that forced Raphael Varane to inadvertently put through his own net just short of the half-hour mark.

He potentially could have won the game for Spurs in the latter stages of the second half, only to be denied by a stunning low save from Keylor Navas.

Speaking about Real's reported interest in Kane at the World Football Summit in Madrid, Calderon, who was elected as club president in 2006 before resigning three years later, told Reuters: "Now Madrid are always on the lookout for the top players.

"A club like Real Madrid is obliged to have important players so they can bring in new sponsors, brands and keep generating more money so they can maintain their current status. That money helps you to invest, save and invest again.

"I suppose Madrid would like to sign Kane, it depends on a few things, such as the desires of player and the coach, but without a doubt he is an outstanding player."

Kane's value has predictably skyrocketed off the back of such a sublime run of form. The CIES Football Observatory previously calculated his price tag at around £136.9m ($180.6m), while reports from The Times this week claimed that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy believes the academy graduate is now worth more than the world-record £200m fee that Paris Saint-Germain paid in August to trigger the release clause in Neymar's Barcelona contract.

"He [Kane] would not be cheap, but when I signed Cristiano Ronaldo for €80m, everyone thought I was crazy and look where we are now," Calderon added. "€150m is now seen as nothing, it's normal. We no longer know what the limit is."