Tottenham have been given until the end of June to secure a deal for Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez, according to Spanish club’s chief executive quoted in the London Evening Standard.
The 22-year-old shot stopper spent the last season on loan at the North London side, and the newspaper report on their website that there is an option to secure him permanently for £6.2million.
However, Spurs have so far been unwilling to meet this value, and have failed with two bids worth up to £2million as reported by SPORT.
Furthermore, the Spanish newspaper claims that Spurs must pay a fine of £440,000 in addition to the original £525,000 loan fee if the two clubs cannot come to an agreement over his move.
Espanyol chief executive Ramon Robert revealed the deadline for any deal, as he was quoted by the Evening Standard on Tuesday as saying: “There is an option to buy until June 30 and if Tottenham do not pay it, he will be an Espanyol player.”
Lopez failed to make a first team appearance for Mauricio Pochettino’s side last season, as he found himself behind the likes of French international and club captain Hugo Lloris and Dutch stopper Michel Vorm, with the latter set to be out of contract at the end of the upcoming season.
Instead, the four-time Spanish U21 international was limited to just seven appearances for Spurs’ U23 side, and could find himself as a free agent in the summer of 2018, when his contract is set to expire.