Pau Lopez can leave

TRANSFER TALK

I'm hearing from Spain that despite former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores buying a new keeper, 30-year-old Spaniard Roberto Jimenez, who is thought to be the number one, Espanyol do not want to let Lopez leave at any price.

They believe he has a great future, even though they are consigning him to the bench. Although he would be on the bench at Tottenham there are Cup competitions for him to play and acclimatize and his purchase would allow the possible release of Michel Vorm to Celtic.

We will need to up our offer if we wish to invest in our goalkeeping future. The he is not for sale and he is not leaving talk may be to maximise the players price. Espanyol are always in need of income from player sales to balance the books, although selling young talent before it matures would seem to go against that strategy.

Espanyol's sporting director, Angel Gomez, has suggested Lopez could be sold at the right price. That certainly leaves the door open for us and all reports seem to suggest he is keen to join Tottenham, which is a healthy sign.