Tottenham's hopes of hanging onto Christian Eriksen have been boosted by Real Madrid's concerns about dealing with tough negotiator Daniel Levy.
Madrid have, firstly, baulked at the Spurs chairman valuing playmaker Eriksen at £130m even though the Danish midfielder will have just one year left on his contract in the summer.
And the Spanish giants are reluctant to get drawn into potentially protracted negotiations with the Spurs chief to reach a compromise over Eriksen.
Levy has replicated Chelsea's stance on another Madrid target, Eden Hazard, who has been valued at over £100m despite his current deal also expiring in 2020, by putting a huge nine-figure price tag on a prized asset.
And his feared reputation is now preceding him and making clubs across Europe think twice about trying to buy Spurs's best players.
The Bernabeu side were similarly apprehensive when they considered making a fresh move for Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino before re-appointing Zinedine Zidane.
While agreeing personal terms with Eriksen would not be a problem for Madrid believe they will need the 27 year-old to do some of the legwork and push for a move in order to help bring the transfer fee down.
Madrid already have first-hand experience of how difficult negotiations with Levy can be having signed Gareth Bale from Spurs for a then world record £85.3m in 2013 a year after prising Luka Modric away from White Hart Lane for £33m.
But with Madrid also working on big-money deals for top target Hazard and Manchester United's Paul Pogba, among others, there is added necessity to reduce the figures involved in a potential deal for Eriksen.