David Villa has accepted that he must leave Barcelona in order to further his career but it seems Tottenham and Arsenal may have to break their wage structure if they want to secure the services of the Spanish striker.

Tottenham were recently linked with a £12m move for the striker whose contract expires at the end of next season. However, there is some concern over whether Villa will be prepared to take a major pay cut when he departs the La Liga champions.

David Villa
David Villa is expected to leave Barcelona after falling out of favour under Tito Vilanova. [Reuters]

Spanish newspaper Marca reports that Villa is currently on a yearly wage of close to £7m a year, which equates to around £130,000-a-week. That would be far more than any current Tottenham player earns and would be particular excessive for a 31 year old who has a history of injury problems.

Gareth Bale is believed to be a basic wage of around £75,000-a-week at Tottenham but the 23 year old proved his worth last season by scoring 21 Premier League goals and helping the club finish in fifth place.

However, it would be unlikely that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would be willing to break the club's wage structure in order to sign Villa and would most likely attempt to convince the striker to lower his demands.

That may well open the door to Arsenal who are also said to be keen in recruiting the former Valencia striker this summer as manager Arsene Wenger looks to further boost his squad in order for them to compete for major honours.

Arsenal may well be willing to match Tottenham's offer to Barcelona but they may also question whether Villa deserves such a steep wage.

Marca believes that Villa is open to a move to the Premier League but he may well have to accept a significant wage cut if he wants to join either Tottenham or Arsenal.

Villa is expected to announce a decision on his future after Barcelona's final game of the season where he is likely to announce his exit as he is not in the plans of manager Tito Vilanova.