According to AS, Real Madrid are no longer prioritising a move for Tottenham Hotspur superstar and England captain Harry Kane to bolster their attacking unit this summer. Instead, the club will look at Espanyol’s Joselu as an option to reinforce the No. 9 spot.

With Karim Benzema departing for Al Ittihad and Mariano Diaz also leaving, Real Madrid are left with no natural striker in their ranks.

And Kane had been identified as the ideal man to replace the now-departed club captain at the Santiago Bernabeu. The 29-year-old England ace has just one year left on his contract at Tottenham and is said to be keen on moving on to a new chapter in his career.

Los Blancos appeared to be at the front of the queue to sign Kane. However, there seems to have been a change in plans over the past 24 hours or so as Tottenham’s demands of £100 million (€116 million) are being deemed excessive by the Spanish capital club.

Such a huge transfer fee, plus annual wages of around €20 million would take the cost of signing quite high and make his amortisation difficult, especially given that Kane is touching 30.

As such, he is said to be no longer on the club’s shortlist and instead a move for Joselu is being lined up. The 33-year-old will be available for a much cheaper price following Espanyol’s relegation from La Liga and could be a short-term fix before Real Madrid can go for Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland in 2024.

Joselu enjoyed a solid 2022/23 campaign, scoring 17 goals in all competitions despite Espanyol’s relegation. And while he can be a good signing for Real Madrid, going into the campaign with him and the inexperienced Alvaro Rodriguez could be a move fraught with risk.

The Merengues need to sign a top-quality replacement for Benzema and cannot postpone it for next year when they may or may not be able to sign Mbappe or Haaland. As such, abandoning Kane’s pursuit might not be the most prudent move on the club’s part.