Real Madrid have been told they will have to splash up to £53million on Donny van de Beek - if they can't land Paul Pogba.
Zinedine Zidane has tasked Real's transfer makers with adding a new midfielder to his squad, in a bid to add competition for Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro.
The Frenchman's primary target is Manchester United superstar Pogba, but face a tough battle with Juventus for the World Cup winner.
Real are also worried about trying to meet Pogba's wage demands, so have made van de Beek their back-up choice, with Christian Eriksen and Tanguy Ndombele also on their hit list.
Ajax ace van de Beek burst onto the scene last season as one of Europe's most exciting youngsters, as the Dutch side shocked the continent to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Van de Beek would cost Real between £45m and 53m, according to De Telegraaf, with the Dutch paper adding: "the transfer of the Ajax player (to Madrid) will gain momentum" when Pogba joins Juve.
If the move does materialise, Ajax fans will not be impressed, having seen Frenkie de Jong already agree a move to Barcelona and Matthijis de Jong on the brink of a mega transfer to one of Europe's biggest clubs.
Van de Beek has also been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool , and admitted he has been flatter to be associated with such clubs.
"I have a contract with Ajax, now I’m focused on the national team," van de Beek told Mundo Deportivo recently. "It’s nice that my name is associated with Barca.
"I have to play better, better and better and we’ll see in the future, you never know what can happen."
