Tottenham to fight it out with Arsenal for £20m Real Madrid defender

Jose Mourinho and Tottenham could be set to battle it out with north London rivals Arsenal for the signature of Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez.

The 30-year-old has been part of the Bernabeu set-up since the age of 11 and made his senior debut in 2011.

And while struggling to become a regular, he’s made 133 league appearances for the Spanish giants and also represented his country 22 times.

It was Mourinho who promoted him to the first team in Madrid so the former Real boss is well aware of Nacho’s strengths as a defender as he ponders a deal to bring him to Spurs.

During his time at Real Madrid, Nacho has won four Champions League titles and proven himself to be a just the sort of reliable and versatile option that would enhance the options at both Tottenham and Arsenal as they seek to improve mediocre defensive records.

He’s been used as a central defender and also played left and right back under Madrid bosses Julen Lopetegui and Zinedine Zidane.

Spanish outlet Don Balon (via Caught Offside) believe that Nacho is now ready to try his luck elsewhere after being limited to just nine appearances this season and several teams are on alert as well as the North London duo.

However, he won’t come cheap and a price tag of £20million has been mentioned.

Arsenal have the Spanish connection via boss Mikel Arteta and defence remains a problem for the Gunners so a move for Nacho would make sense.

But, equally, there’s logic behind the link to Spurs too.

Mourinho knows the player well and will be aware of his dependability, impressive work rate and good record of avoiding injury.

Despite being just under 6ft, Nacho is also a threat from set pieces and has scored 11 goals in 199 total appearances for Real while also netting once for his country.