Redknapp backs Defoe.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes that striker Jermain Defoe will be back to his best form this season, The Mirror reports.
Defoe scored nine goals last season and had a disappointing term in his high standards, but Redknapp reveals that the forward looks sharper than ever in training. The 28-year-old has spent the majority of his career under Redknapp’s management at West Ham United, Portsmouth and Spurs and Redknapp’s trust in the forward gives Defoe confidence for the season.
Redknapp said: “Jermain did not have the best time of things last season and he had his problems with injuries. He scored only four league goals and he is a 16-17 goals-a-season player, no question. But he has looked fit and really sharp in pre-season.”
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Spurs want Adebayor wage agreement.
Manchester City have been told by Spurs that they will have to pay a percentage of Emmanuel Adebayor’s wages if he makes the switch to White Hart Lane, The Mirror reports.
Adebayor collects £160,000 a week wages at Eastlands and Spurs are unwilling to break their wage structure, so City will have to pay £100,000 and Spurs will pay £60,000. City boss Roberto Mancini insisted that he will never pick the Togo forward again for his club and Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is ready to strengthen his forward line with the striker.
Real Madrid were also rumoured to be interested in bringing Adebayor back to the Bernabeu, but they would not pay City’s £14m asking price after he went on loan there in January. City paid a huge chunk of wages at that stage and now they may have to do the same with Spurs just to get him out of the Etihad Stadium.
Spurs fans may be unhappy with an ex-Arsenal player joining their ranks in North London, but former team-mate William Gallas has impressed at Tottenham and Adebayor could follow suit.
Redknapp and Levy disagree over Modric.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy have contrasting views over whether to let star midfielder Luka Modric move to Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail.
Redknapp is prepared to let the £35m-rated player go to the Blues and bring in a top striker, with Villarreal’s Guiseppe Rossi, Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor all linked. Levy wants to finance new signings by selling other players apart from Modric and is looking to complete a deal with Stoke City for Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios.
The difference in opinion between the coaching staff and the chairman has threatened to derail any chances from Tottenham. Modric is unhappy at Spurs and wants to fulfil his Champions League ambitions with Chelsea, but Levy’s stance of stopping Modric going for any sort of money has cooled any interest from Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas.
Redknapp son’s Jamie said last week about Harry’s belief: “It looks like he’ll be at Tottenham at the start of the season, but if Chelsea are offering £35m, it might be cutting off your nose to spite your face (to keep him). You could buy two or three great players for that.”
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