Diego Spurs move backed by father

The father of Brazilian prodigy Diego told Standard Sport today: “I hope my son will come to Tottenham.”

Djair da Cunha confirmed Spurs had made Brazilian club Santos an offer for the 18-year-old midfielder who has been compared to a young Zinedine Zidane.

But Da Cunha, who is his son’s agent, said Santos had rejected the offer — believed to be around £5.6million — and were waiting to see if Spurs would improve the bid.

He said: “Its now just between both clubs to come to an arrangement. I hope they do since going to Tottenham will be an important step in Diego’s career.”

According to reports in Brazil, Santos president Marcelo Teixeira received an offer from Spurs that will net the club £3.15m, which accounts for 60 per cent of the value of the player. The other 40 per cent of Diego is owned by his father, making the total transfer figure almost £5.6m.

But Teixeira wants to net £4.4m from the deal and is also insisting on keeping a percentage of Diego, in the event that Spurs sell him on.