After a frustrating maiden voyage through the Premier League, Spurs striker Roberto Soldado had publicly maintained he wished to stay in England and give it another go.
But it appears he may not get that chance.
According to Spanish publication Marca, Atletico Madrid is in discussions to bring the 29-year-old back to Spain on a loan deal.
Rumors in the early summer suggested he wished to return to the Spanish league and its style which brought him so much success two season ago with Valencia. But the trail had gone cold for much of this transfer window, before reemerging this morning.
Already with Mario Mandzukic at the top of its attack as they look to replace Diego Costa, Madrid is now looking for a more creative striker and Soldado could be the answer. Although he struggled mightily with his finishing and ended the Premier League campaign with just six goals, he also pumped across five assists and created 24 chances - 22nd in the Premier League for strikers but had fewer minutes than all but three players above him.
Unfortunately for Atletico, despite Soldado’s sub-par campaign last year, Spurs have little other options at the head of attack and they face a fight to convince Tottenham to let him go.
According to the Telegraph in England, new boss Mauricio Pochettino is indeed looking to thin the squad, but with just three true strikers in Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Harry Kane, there’s not much leeway up front.
Soldado tweeted this earlier Friday:
No puedo esperar más por volver a White Hart Lane / Can't wait to get back to White Hart Lane http://t.co/oUuOBOPuAI
— Roberto Soldado (@R9Soldado) August 8, 2014