• La Liga

Valencia boss hopes Prem target Soldado stays

Roberto Soldado has been Valencia's key man in recent years © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Valencia hand Spurs Soldado ultimatum
  
• News: Villas-Boas confirms interest in Soldado
  

Valencia coach Miroslav Djukic believes striker Roberto Soldado will remain with the club next season but is readying himself should he leave this summer - with the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool after the Spain international.

The 28-year-old Soldado has been the rumoured target of a number of European clubs, including Premier League clubs Tottenham and Liverpool, with the striker's buy-out clause said to be set at £26 million.

And speculation has been rife recently that Soldado could be on the verge of an exit from the Mestalla with the club's president, Amadeo Salvo, setting an August deadline for interested clubs to bid on the player.

According to Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Tottenham sporting director Franco Baldini met Soldado's agent Alberto Toldra in person on Monday, and manager Andre Villas-Boas confirmed the club are interested in bringing the striker to White Hart Lane.

But Djukic remains hopefully that one of his main outlets for goals - Soldado scored 24 La Liga goals last season - will again lead the club's front-line.

"I think he will continue with us, but nobody can guarantee anything," Djukic said. "In football as in life, you need to be ready for everything.

"We all want him to stay and we think that he's going to remain but someone could always come in and pay the buy-out clause. That's the danger. For now he's our player and we count on him."

He added: "From the start we've said that Soldado isn't for sale and that the only way he could go is that someone comes in, pays the clause and the player accepts to go."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd