Real Madrid Shortlist Reportedly Includes Paulo Dybala, Harry Kane, Dele Alli

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has reportedly drawn up a shortlist of stars to "revolutionise" the club, including Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Kane and Dele Alli, as well as Juventus and Argentina star Paulo Dybala.

Those are just three of the names on a shopping list that's also said to include Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos and Bayern Munich's versatile David Alaba, per Spanish outlet Diario Gol (h/t Daily Mirror's Jacob Murtagh).

A disastrous start to the 2017-18 campaign sees Los Blancos sitting 10 points off La Liga leaders Barcelona and second to Tottenham Hotspur in their UEFA Champions League group, leading to calls for an overhaul.

There's no lack of ambition in the standard of star said to feature among Perez's targets, and one maestro who could be within their reach is the ever-improving Dybala, according to BT Sport commentator Adam Summerton:

The South American could make for an easier draw than the Spurs pairing of Kane and Alli, who are flying high in north London and already boast a victory over Los Merengues to their name this season.

Tottenham drew their Champions League meeting in Madrid before beating Zinedine Zidane's men 3-1 at Wembley Stadium, and the club's advancement under manager Mauricio Pochettino only looks to be on the up.

Defeating the European champions may not be enough to dissuade any player's desire to join one of football's greatest powerhouses, although Kane said after the match there's no reason why Spurs can't aim to better them.

When asked if Spurs can win the title, he responded: "Definitely, why not? We have to believe. Maybe nobody who watched that will want to play us although everyone in the Champions League is a good team. It will give us a lot of confidence and belief and we have to build on it."

Those comments would lead some to question whether Real would be considered a step up at present, with Tottenham having embarked on a journey to Premier League title contention under Pochettino's guidance.

It was only three years ago that Alli completed a £5 million move to north London from MK Dons, and the Press Association's Tom Allnutt illustrated how he's taken his game to world-beater standards since then:

Real have long been linked with United marvel De Gea but are now said to prefer Athletic Bilbao stopper Kepa, who has been impressive this term and is four years younger than the former at just 23.

Left-back Alaba seems a more difficult transfer to imagine considering Marcelo, 29, is among the best in the position, although Bayern's malleable defender does have some rare skills in his locker: 

It's no surprise Real might seek reinforcements at centre-back following Pepe's summer departure for Besiktas. As well as Marquinhos, Athletic's Aymeric Laporte and Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez are said to be two targets slightly closer to home.

Real were relatively quiet in the summer transfer market compared to their usual levels of business and could be paying the price for it, with Perez eager to make up for any mistakes by signing the right men in 2018.