Real Madrid plan London raid for Van der Vaart

Real Madrid hope to land Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart in the first week of August.

AS says Real intend to take advantage of playing Hamburg in next month's Emirates Cup, hosted by Arsenal in London, in order to close a deal for Van der Vaart.

Real have already struck personal terms with Van der Vaart's representatives and are confident of landing the midfielder for around £5 million. Hamburg want £15 million, but with the player now inside the final year of his contract, are resigned to accepting significantly less.