FUTURE NEWS: Real Madrid sign Andros Townsend for world record fee Written by Ben Holt Friday, 18 October 2013 20:09 Andros Townsend has joined Real Madrid from Spurs for £150m, breaking former teammate Gareth Bale’s record to become the most expensive player in the world. He joins the La Liga runners up following months of speculation surrounding his future. Over the last two months, Spurs have also received bids for the England winger from Wigan Athletic, with Qatars Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani looking to make his first signing as the club’s new owner, and Manchester City, who recently signed Belgium’s entire World Cup winning squad. But last week, it was reported that Townsend personally met with Daniel Levy asking him to accept the Spanish giants’ bid. Townsend’s amazing year saw him win the PFA and FWA Player of the Season, scoring 37 goals in all competitions, including a double-hattrick against Azerbaijani champions Neftchi Baku in the Europa League third qualifying round. Such was Townsend’s influence at White Hart Lane, Tottenham’s second top scorer was Emmanuel Adebayor, with just four goals. He also inspired England to a quarter final finish at Euro 2016 where he was the only player to convert from the spot as England were knocked out on penalties by Portugal. Tottenham’s failure to qualify for the Champions League saw Townsend grow discontent at White Hart Lane, and he made no secret of his desire to move abroad. Spurs were cruelly denied a place in the Champions League after QPR’s on-loan keeper Marton Fulop scored three own goals in stoppage time of their final day encounter at the Emirates to hand Arsenal a 3-2 victory – enough to see the Gunners finish in 4th, and consign Spurs to another season in the Europa League. It has been rumoured that to help fund the Townsend transfer, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric could be both heading back to North London, with Arsene Wenger confirming interest in the pair. Bale’s time at Madrid has been marred by injury and poor form, and he was recently voted Flop of the Century by Marca, whilst Modric has lost his starting place to 17-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Bob. The Bale/Modric transfer to Arsenal has infuriated Tottenham supporters, who have released another petition to end the ‘special relationship’ between Spurs and Real; the 103rdpetition surrounding this particular issue. However, Daniel Levy insists that the money will be used to pay for “seven or eight quality players, as well as new legs for club ambassador Ledley King.” While one Bale looks set to depart the Spanish capital, Real Madrid have made history by signing another: Gareth’s newborn son Ancelotti Bale. The two-week old will join the Real academy as soon as he can walk. Meanwhile, Townsend’s hopes of making his debut in the El Clasico on Sunday September 3, 2016 have been dashed because of a lower back injury, which doctors say shouldn’t keep him out of action for more than two weeks.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 20:07:30 +0000
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