Tottenham to Send Scouts to Track Spanish Goalscorer – Report

Tottenham could bid for Valencia striker Roberto Soldado in the summer. The Spain international has had a good season with the La Liga club, scoring 23 goals and creating five more, in 35 starts across all competitions.

The Mail believes Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy has identified the Real Madrid youth product as a key component of a planned challenge for the Premier League title next season. The north London side hope to be able to pair Soldado with Welsh international Gareth Bale, assuming the prolific 23-year-old remains at White Hart Lane in the summer.

Spurs are believed to have dispatched scouts to watch Soldado on Sunday evening, when Valencia visit Real Sociedad for a Spanish league match. The two clubs are fourth and fifth in the table and among a number of sides fighting for the final Champions League qualifying place.

Soldado was earlier valued at £30m but Spurs believe they can reduce that to £20m, given the Spanish club's financial problems. He is contracted to the club till 2017.

However, a move for the Spaniard depends on Spurs' own Champions League hopes. Andre Villas-Boas' men are fifth in the Premier League and trail Arsenal, in third, by two points. They spurned the chance to leap-frog their rivals on Saturday evening, after being held to a 2-2 draw at Wigan Athletic.

And should the club fail to qualify for European football's elite tournament, it is likely incoming transfers at White Hart Lane will be minimal. And while that may not be the worst thing to happen, it could also lead to Bale leaving the club.

AVB recently confirmed that retaining the Welshman without Champions League football would be a difficult proposition, given the intense interest from Madrid.

AVB on Wigan Draw

In other news, AVB claimed he was satisfied with the draw at Wigan. Spurs were trailing 1-2 heading into the final minutes but managed to salvage a point after an Emmerson Boyce own-goal.

"It's always difficult when you play away from home in the Premier League and it could turn out to be a positive point. At this stage of the season, it doesn't really serve either team, because we both wanted to win. We deserved a little better for what we did in the first half, or at least not going 2-1 down at the beginning of the second half," the former Chelsea boss told the club's Web site.