Tottenham may make run at Real's van Nistelrooy

Tottenham Hotspur has been linked with a move for Ruud van Nistelrooy and will make an opening offer if Dimitar Berbatov is sold for the club's full asking price, according to reports.

The outlandish link was made in England and on Friday, Spanish sports daily Marca reported a bid of aorund $40 million should be enough to bring Real Madrid to table for talks.

With few actual moves going through among Europe's elite due to the European Championship, rumors are far outweighing facts and Tottenham has been linked with a number of strikers.

Van Nistelrooy is seen as a key figure at the Bernabéu and his exit would require los Merengues to find a replacement when all their energies are focused on prying Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United.

The Dutch striker turns 32 on July 1 and, while he is settled in Madrid, Juande Ramos' Spurs may have sizeable resources, but will not spend a large proportion on a veteran.

While Berbatov remains at the club, it is well documented that keeping him and looking for a smaller frontman to complete a quartet of the Bulgarian, Darren Bent and Robbie Keane is the aim.

Bernd Schuster held talks with the Madrid hierarchy earlier this week and stated that very few new players would join the club, while Ramos has given no indication to who he wants.

After signing Luka Modric out of the blue and capturing Giovani dos Santos from Barcelona for just $12 million, there could be a few more surprises in store.