Transfers - Gossip Shop: Harry targets Defoe

Eurosport - Mon, 27 Oct 18:05:00 2008

With Harry Redknapp's assertion that he has full control over transfer activity at Tottenham, a series of raids on his former club Portsmouth cannot be too far away.

2008-2009 Portsmouth-Middlesbrough Jermain Defoe - 0

Apparently, working under Redknapp is nothing but a pleasure so it would come as no surprise if a number of his former charges decide to jump ship at the earliest opportunity should Spurs come knocking.

Redknapp is set to be handed a bumper £30m transfer kitty - more than enough to take a couple of Pompey players with him to White Hart Lane - and already a trio of names have been thrown into the hat: Jermain Defoe, David James and Lassana Diarra .

Defoe only quit Spurs in January this year, when the attractive flowing football Redknapp likes to encourage proved a major factor in the striker's decision to swap North London for the south coast.

And with Spurs' squad currently boasting just three strikers - Darren Bent, Roman Paylyuchenko and Fraizer Campbell, none of whom have hit form this season - bolstering that department with the acquisition of Defoe will be a priority for the new boss.

He said: "You never know do you? If he (Defoe) ever came back up for sale then I'm sure we would be interested."

Just below a striker on his wish list, Redknapp is likely to target a goalkeeper, with James the obvious choice to offer competition for Heurelho Gomes, who has amazed with his capacity for the unexpected so far this season.

Redknapp has managed to bring the best out of James at club level - he only really makes embarrassing gaffes for his country these days - thankfully minimising the frequency with which he is referred to as 'calamity' James.

And Diarra - who appears intent on rivalling Christian Vieri in terms of number of clubs played for before he is even 25 - would be a welcome addition to any side's midfield. Although being an ex-Gooner, it is unclear quite how the France international will be received in the white half of North London.

Three down, but why stop there? There's plenty more to aim for, so why not throw the likes of Peter Crouch, Sylvain Distin and Glen Johnson - all of whom have already been linked to Spurs - into the hat for good measure?

Of course, Portsmouth are well aware of the threat their former manager now poses and are braced for the inevitable onslaught.

Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie admitted: "I accept that many players did come here mostly because of Harry but that sort of thing also exists at other clubs. I don't know what is going to happen in the future because Harry's going is still a big shock."

Whether Redkanpp will target players from clubs he hasn't previously managed remains unclear, but moves for Gossip Shop regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham were immediately ruled out.

"I'm not going to ask the chairman to go and buy Ronaldo for me," Redknapp said before laughing off a suggestion he could move for LA Galaxy ace David Beckham. "It sounds like a good idea doesn't it?!" he joked.

Meanwhile, West Ham, Southampton and Bournemouth remain in a state of constant uneasiness.

In other news, those marketing men over in the MLS must be having kittens with the news that underwear model and sometime soccerball player Freddie Ljungberg is ready to make a return to the game with the Seattle Sounders.

"Freddie's a fantastic player who has a lot more to offer," Sounders president Gary Wright said, barely able to conceal his glee at the thought of the poster boy Swede boosting both ticket sales and libido in the Pacific Northwest.

Heading in the opposite direction across the Atlantic could be Los Angeles Galaxy striker Landon Donovan, who says he fancies a move to the Premier League or La Liga, and that he has already been in contact with Bayern Munich boss Juergen Klinsmann.

"I'd love to play in the Premiership, I think that would be incredible," the 105-cap US international said. "I'd love to play in Spain."

GS reckons he's tailor-made for Fulham. Way to hustle, Landon.

And finally, CSKA Moscow youngster Alan Dzagoev is set to snub overtures from Real Madrid in favour of a move to Chelsea .

The reason? "Basically I like Chelsea more," the 18-year-old attacking midfielder said. "I have supported the team for four years already." Sounds like he'll fit right in at Stamford Bridge.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

Comment 6 - 25 of 25

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  1. Defoe is the poacher we miss now that scummer Keane has joined his belover pool!!

    From Wayne, on Tue 28 Oct 8:46AM

  2. thank god for harry redknapp - he will turn spurs around - just you wait and see

    From DEVONALD J, on Tue 28 Oct 7:59AM

  3. Defoe should defo move back,they need a decent stricker

    From Connor, on Mon 27 Oct 7:34PM

  4. Defoe should defo move back,the need a decent stricker

    From Connor, on Mon 27 Oct 7:29PM

  5. Although Defoe loves 'spurs, I doubt that he'll go back as soon as he's called upon. Why would he want to go back to a club that gave him very few first-team opportunities and, also, a club that is in a far worse league position than the team he plays for at the moment is in just now? As far as I'm concerned, buying more players isn't the answer(this will only deplete the current side's confidence even more). Instead, Harry should look into trying to make the team that he currently possesses play better together as a unit and, if this doesn't work, he should then consider the possibility of purchasing another player - for me, Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid would be the ideal choice.

    From ROBERT, on Mon 27 Oct 7:19PM

  6. Defoe will def move back over he never wanted to go in the first place he only went 'cos he couldnt work with ramos he will be back as soon as he can hes always been spurs n he always will

    From Lucy, on Mon 27 Oct 6:30PM

  7. roberto martinez would be mad to leave swansea to manage portsmouth or qpr, i hope it doesnt happen but round here stories are escalating fast that talks are underway...why why why leave our manager alone he is at club going place and would be mad to go to a club on the decline

    From who am i, on Mon 27 Oct 5:58PM

  8. You're right about Corluka, he's not perfect by a long way, but he's somewhat better than what else is on offer.
    Modric played well, and it was good to see him harassing players. Hutton and Bentley teamed up well, but I still think that Hutton gets caught out of position too often.
    I'm still undecided on Gomes. He's a great shot stopper, but his handling leaves a lot to be decided.
    We've got a long way to go.
    I think if we can 15ish points by Xmas and then push on for a top half finish, that would be good given our start.

    From PETER, on Mon 27 Oct 5:50PM

  9. If you want to get the best out of darren bent you need to buy darren ambrose... those 2 have only ever played well when theyve played together.

    long gone are those glory ipswich days though :(

    From stevoarnold, on Mon 27 Oct 5:44PM

  10. Tottenham will be employing the language teachers surplus to requirements at Portsmouf next :-)

    From art_tidesco, on Mon 27 Oct 5:31PM

  11. snorkel

    From Ted, on Mon 27 Oct 4:42PM

  12. i like men

    From Doshy, on Mon 27 Oct 4:29PM

  13. cheers steve. and yes peter, i agree that striking stat is key, but strangely enough, it's why i don't rate defoe, hasselbaink, and others like that. some are goal scorers that help their team (like torres, shearer, etc) and some are not. i think bent falls into the latter category. let's not also forget that he has been our only striker, and half his goals are flukes. anyway, enough of that. corluka, i can't type the word i want to say, it's a kind of 'nyah', a sort of undecided shrug. he's far too slow, but he's certainly much better than dawson, who makes so many U12 mistakes it's ridiculous. never seen a centre back run under or past the ball as much as he does. so corluka, jury out. modric at last played in the correct manner and it showed, and i'm still out on pav too. worked incredibly hard and i think he might be decent. you?

    From hughspurling, on Mon 27 Oct 4:11PM

  14. £16M Bent LOL

    From nicholasbnjmn, on Mon 27 Oct 4:09PM

  15. stay away mike ashley do not let him buy the club he was part of gettting rid of martin jol remember that

    From D B, on Mon 27 Oct 3:58PM

  16. But a striker is exactly that, a goal scorer, don't matter how he scores them.
    By that stat only he's not the worse striker.
    Agree with you on Zokora.
    What did you think of Corluka yesterday?

    From PETER, on Mon 27 Oct 3:51PM

  17. "requires a near-impossible hollywood ball over the top"

    Sounds like you need Beckham!

    Sorry, couldn't resist.

    From Steve, on Mon 27 Oct 3:50PM

  18. peter.cotterell, sorry to disagree mate, but bent is the worst striker in the premiership (and the first division). he has no first touch, he makes one run only all game, a run that requires a near-impossible hollywood ball over the top and then wonders why no one hits him. he's not a big man, even though he is built like a big man. he can't pass. okay, he's a decent finisher, i'll give you that, but finishing is not important if the ball hits you on the knee, head, back, anywhere but your foot and your teammates won't pass you the ball because they all know how bad you are. even clive allen knew not to play him and he probably only watches him in training. thank god they dropped zokora too. now all we need to do is go out and buy a centreback, a holding midfielder, a left back and a striker. strange, we've needed that for five years. listen to him, levy.

    From hugh, on Mon 27 Oct 3:31PM

  19. re.cameron.w ure just bitter mate

    From taz, on Mon 27 Oct 3:29PM

  20. Dzagoev needs to consider Arsenal option if it arrives. Venger knows how to work with youngsters.

    From fobidkhanov, on Mon 27 Oct 3:21PM
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