Over the weekend Tottenham Hotspur scored a victory over Liverpool, at Anfield no less. This victory boosted Tottenham in the pursuit of European football, albeit in the Europa League. It's a race that I'm not sure either Tottenham or Liverpool really want to win, but one of them will.
Harry Redknapp came out this week and announced that Tottenham are going to need to add to the squad if they are to improve. The best little snippet from that article was near the bottom when Redknapp says "I went to the cup final in France on Saturday night and I'm going to go abroad two or three times this week and keep following up leads and see what we come up with." The Coupe de France Final was played between Paris Saint-Germain and Lille OSC. I wonder who Harry was looking at.
There are quite a few interesting names on those two squads, particularly Eden Hazard, Nene, Mamadou Sakho, Rio Mavuba, Yohan Cabaye, and Moussa Sow. It will be interesting to see where else Harry pops up over the next couple of weeks as it could definitely give us an idea of who Tottenham are looking to sign.
Rafa Is Staying Put: Speculation has been rampant the either Spurs would look to cash in on Rafael Van der Vaart or the Dutch midfielder would leave in search of Champions League football. This morning the Dutchman told the press he has no intention of leaving. In fact, Van der Vaart has already set his sights on winning the Europa League next year.
#WeNeedAStriker: Cue the carnival music as Tottenham's, somewhat comical, search for a source of goals continues. The Daily Mail postulates the Harry was in France to look at Lille strike Gervinho. The Ivorian and and his teammate Moussa Sow have both been linked with moves to Newcastle in the past, but with Lille currently at the top of Ligue 1 and Champions League football on the way it's hard to believe either player will be leaving.The Allstate Safe Hands Rumor: What goalkeepers have we been linked with this week? Well, for starters there was Ben Foster, who's made more saves than any other keeper in the Premier League, but he plays behind a shaky Birmingham defense and has made his share of mistakes. Spurs have also been associated with a move for aging American keeper Brad Friedel. Friedel is out of contract at the end of the season and thus would make a lot of sense for Spurs. Maybe not as a replacement for Gomes, but certainly as a challenge to his number one spot.
Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuud: In another file in the "Rumors That Just Won't Die" folder, Tottenham have been linked with a move for Ruud van Nistelrooy. Yes, that's right the 34 year old Dick Mar Van Nostrilboy may finally be joining Spurs. I, for one, could not be less excited.
Trimming the fat...and the useless: Both Harry Redknapp and Spurs Chairmen Daniel Levy have spoken several times about the need to trim the squad. Players on the fringes of the first team like Robbie Keane, David Bentley and even Niko Kranjcar may be on the move. It looks like Keane may be headed to newly promoted Queens Park Rangers. Honestly this would be a good move for Keane. Neil Warnock is a good manager and could get some useful goals out of Keane. Look for Spurs to unload at least a couple of players on the promoted sides of QPR, Norwich City, and whoever wins the final spot (Come on Cardiff!).
Player We're Not Linked With But Should Be: Per Mertesacker is a towering (6'6") defender for Werder Bremen who finished a disappointing 13th in the Bundesliga this year. Mertesacker has said he wants to get back to playing European football and a move for the powerful German makes sense given our frailty at the back. Tottenham would have no shortage of competition for his signature though as many top European clubs will be after him. Mertesacker has been capped 75 times by Germany, but is still only 26. Questions may arise whether or not he has enough pace to play in England, but he's a top quality central defender that would certainly improve Tottenham's back line.
Player We're Actually Going to Buy...This Week: Real Madrid have finalized the signing of Nuri Sahin from Borussia Dortmund meaning there are going to be some odd men out in the Real Madrid midfield. Both Fernando Gago and Lassana Diarra have been linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur in the past, but this time it's actually going to happen. Both should be available at cut-rate prices. Diarra is a better fit for Spurs because of his versatility and the fact that he has played in England before.