Forlan too costly for Spurs

Tottenham have been warned by Atletico Madrid that they will have to pay out £30million for striker Diego Forlan.

Spurs have been on the look out for new attacking options all summer as the future of Dimitar Berbatov remains shrouded in mystery, while Robbie Keane departed for Liverpool during the close-season. However, following reports that boss Juande Ramos had switched his attentions from Andrei Arshavin to 29-year-old Uruguayan international forward Forlan, his current side Atletico Madrid immediately slapped a huge price tag on his head.

It is thought Ramos will not offer any more than £16million for the former Manchester United and Villarreal frontman, but Atletico are so desperate to keep him they will not consider anything below the £30million mark.

Atletico Sport Director Jesus Garcia Pitarch said: "We are not interested in this possible operation because Forlan is a key man for our project. Really he is not for sale."