Real target Henry, Nistelrooy

Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy would be the preferred summer signings for Carlos Queiroz, the Real Madrid coach says.

Spanish sports newspapers are convinced that Real's next big-name transfer target will be one of three men: Arsenal's French forward Henry, Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy of Manchester United or AS Roma captain Francesco Totti.

Real president Florentino Perez has avoided commenting on the fevered speculation but Queiroz revealed his own feelings in an interview with sports daily Marca on Tuesday.

"At the moment, I don't believe Totti would be a priority player for Real Madrid," Queiroz said.

"If I had to give my preference I'd go for Van Nistelrooy and Henry. They've both reached maturity.

"Besides, the Frenchman is at the moment at the peak of his powers both in terms of taking chances and using the ball."

In the past four years Real have signed Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and David Beckham, four of the biggest names in world football, and Perez is widely expected to continue the trend this year.

Queiroz may well be disappointed, however. Henry stated in a recent newspaper interview in Spain that he had no interest in joining Real, while Van Nistelrooy recently signed a new contract at United, running until 2008.