Tottenham Prepare £17m Bid for Turkish Striker - Report

Tottenham are planning a bid for Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz. The Mirror believes the north London side will go as high as £17m to persuade the Turkish side to part with the man who scored 24 goals in the Turkish league and eight more in the Champions League last season.

Andre Villas-Boas will be aware his side were painfully dependent on Welsh international Gareth Bale for goals and inspiration last year. And even if the 23-year-old were to remain at White Hart Lane for the coming season, the club could do with another goal scorer up front, particularly after Emmanuel Adebayor's poor season.

As of now, AVB has only the Togo man and England international Jermain Defoe as recognised strikers. But with a reported £50m available to spend, AVB will want to boost his forward line. The club have also been linked to Barcelona striker David Villa.

In fact, Goal.com believes Spurs have an initial agreement on personal terms with the Spain striker and need to negotiate a transfer fee with the Catalan club over Villa's move; the Nou Camp side reportedly want £12m but Spurs want to bring that down to £8m.

And given the club are also committing themselves to the £17m signing of Corinthians' Paulinho, Spurs fans could see an almost brand-new attack at the Lane in August.

Of course, if Villa does confirm his transfer, any move for Yilmaz may be cancelled. With both Defoe and Adebayor's futures still uncertain, any further recruits in the striking department may have to wait until one of these two moves on.

If Spurs are indeed serious about the Turk, they will have to contend with interest from Spanish side Atlético Madrid. According to the player's agent, Ali Egesel, Diego Simeone's side are interested in his client; the Spaniards are looking for a replacement for Colombian Radamel Falcao, who has joined French club AS Monaco.

"I can confirm that we have received interest from Atletico but we are open to other possibilities. Italy? Yes, why not. There are a few Italian clubs who have expressed an interest," Egesel told Tutto Mercato Web.

"Last year he was close to signing for Lazio but please don't ask me for names right now. Burak is very happy at Galatasaray but of course we are always open to hearing offers from elsewhere," he added.