Christian Eriksen's hopes of moving from Tottenham to Madrid look diminished as both Real Madrid and Atletico have other priorities in the last three weeks of the Spanish transfer window.
The midfielder, who rejected a transfer to Manchester United this week as he holds out for a move to Spain, still looks likely to leave as the European window remains open until the end of August.
Eriksen has one year left on his contract and Spurs are not prepared to let the Dane leave for free next summer, while the player favours a lifestyle choice and is keen on a move to Spain.
But Real Madrid are in the market for a more mobile midfielder after their troubles in pre-season, which has featured three defeats and 16 goals conceded.
Manchester United’s Paul Pogba remains their top target, but Ajax’s Donny van de Beek has overtaken Eriksen in the club’s list of priorities this summer, with the Dane all but ruled out at this stage.
Atletico, meanwhile, are still hoping to sign playmaker James Rodriguez from Madrid for a fee of around €50million.
Real do not want to sell James to Atletico, but Los Blancos need to raise funds from somewhere in order to make another signing this summer and the player is keen to stay in Madrid.
Personal terms have been agreed and the move only needs the green light from Madrid president Florentino Perez, who initially blocked the deal after the 7-3 loss to Atleti in New Jersey last month and in light of Marco Asensio's long-term injury.
Atletico sporting director Andrea Berta is an admirer of Eriksen and the Dane has emerged as a possible alternative to James, but the Rojiblancos’ interest in the latter is not limited solely to football.
Rodriguez, an €80m signing for Real Madrid from Monaco in 2014, is the world’s fourth-most marketable footballer – after Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar – and Atletico are keen to tap into his huge following in South America.
Standard Sport understands Atletico’s interest is more about merchandising, shirt sales and brand value than what the Colombian can bring on the pitch and it is difficult to see how he could fit into Diego Simeone’s system, where €120m summer signing Joao Felix is expected to be a fixture behind strikers Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata.
That would explain why Atleti are focused on James alone. “Our team is competitive for La Liga, the Champions League and all the competitions we will take part in,” president Enrique Cerezo told radio station Kiss Kiss Napoli this week. “Our squad is closed, but you never know.”
Eriksen’s brand value is nowhere near James’ reach. The Dane has 1.5m followers on Instagram, compared to the Colombian’s 42.7m. Rodriguez is a huge star in his homeland, a football-mad nation with a population of almost 50 million, and across South America.
If Atleti’s move for James is frustrated, the Rojiblancos are expected to stick with what they have this summer.
Meanwhile, Real are looking at other targets, Barcelona are not interested in signing Eriksen due to a surplus of midfielders at Camp Nou already and no either side from LaLiga could afford to bring in the Dane.
Priorities may change and there are still three weeks left, but as things stand, a route to Spain currently looks to be blocked for the Tottenham playmaker.
