Football transfer news

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that he wouldn’t splash unnecessary cash when the January transfer window opens next month but will search the market for a “special” player.

Redknapp told Sky Sports News: ”We’ve got so many players here it would be hard fitting anybody in. We’re not too desperate for anything. We’re more than strong everywhere so unless it’s someone who’s a bit special I don’t think we’ll be doing too much.

”If someone’s there that we feel can make the difference – it might just be a character or leader or somebody who can give you something at the club. If that type of person’s available then we’d be interested, but at the moment we’re not closing in on anything.”

Redknapp, though, expects Newcastle United striker Andrew Carroll to remain at St. James’ Park and explained, ”He’s got fantastic potential. He’s a top player, no doubt – he’s a real handful and he’s taken the Premier League by storm the first half of the season.

”If he was available I think there’d be plenty of people want him because he’s an old-fashioned centre-forward, but I see [Newcastle manager] Alan Pardew wants to keep him and I don’t blame him so I don’t see him moving.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has rubbished talk of Luka Modric making a move to Chelsea.

Zdravko Mamic, the vice-president of the Croatian midfielder’s former club, Dinamo Zagreb, had previously been quoted as saying that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti had made Modric his top transfer target.

But the White Hart Lane gaffer insisted otherwise, as he told reporters: “He [Modric] wasn’t going nowhere.

“He is just such a fantastic player, if we start selling Luka Modric we may as well all go home.

“He’s different class and he’s not going nowhere, not a chance, not a chance.

“He [Ancelotti] might have his eye on him but he isn’t going to get him that’s for sure.”

Redknapp also confirmed that striker Robbie Keane can leave the club, with the forward having been linked with moves to Birmingham City, West Ham United and Aston Villa.

“Robbie would like to move and he wants to play,” said the former Portsmouth boss. “He is a boy who has played all his career. He is not used to not playing.

“He is still a top player and would grace most clubs. It’s just that he has been unfortunate with Rafa [van der Vaart] coming in and I’ve been playing one up with him. I have Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko and Robbie so it’s been difficult getting him in the team. I haven’t heard anything about any offers for him though.”

The Spurs boss also ruled out the possibility of making a move for Blackburn Rovers defencer Chris Samba, who recently came out speaking of a desire to leave the club in protest of Sam Allardyce’s sacking.

“He [Samba] is a good player who has done a great job,” Redknapp said. “He has been a fantastic signing for Blackburn from Germany. But I am okay; I am strong at centre half. So he is not a player I would be looking to do anything with.”

Popularity: 100% [?]

Manchester City midfielder David Silva says that the Premier League is “more entertaining and enjoyable” than the Spanish Primera Division.

Silva, who joined the ambitious English club from Valencia in the summer, told Man City’s official website, “Barcelona and Real Madrid are going well and have built up quite a lead. In England it is far more hard-fought.

“You could have any number of teams getting up there near the top. That makes for a more entertaining and enjoyable league.”

The Spain international reflected on his time at Eastlands so far and explained, “I have settled in but I owe a lot to my team-mates because they helped make the process a lot quicker.

“The games in England are very competitive. So many sides can make life very hard for you. It is a real challenge. But we are going OK at the moment. Now we must continue so we are in the final shake-up.”

The 24-year-old also remarked on his move from Spain to England and said, “City showed a real interest in me from the outset and they were the ones who made an offer for me.

“There was talk about Real Madrid, but it was never anything more than that, certainly nothing concrete. But I wanted to experience playing in the Premier League. It was something that really appealed to me.”

Popularity: 83% [?]

Landon Donovan faced a difficult dilemma as December progressed and the start of the European transfer window beckoned on January 1.

The U.S. international found himself in a situation similar to the circumstances he confronted last December. Once again, Donovan weighed two apparently viable options: bombarding forward in his playing career by spending a second consecutive winter on loan with Everton or recharging his batteries before preparing for the 2011 MLS campaign with Los Angeles.

Both offers enticed him in different ways, but only one of them truly suited his present requirements.

Everton desperately needs Donovan – or someone of his caliber – to bolster David Moyes’ threadbare squad before the talismanic Tim Cahill scampers off to Qatar for the Asian Cup in January. Donovan’s first spell on Merseyside earlier this year proved a hit for both player and club, and a second stint certainly appealed to his desire to mix it up at the top level. Other parties – Fulham, most notably – expressed interest, but Donovan’s affection for Everton made it a one-club race to carry him off the beach and shunt him straight into the Premier League with little rest.

Popularity: 95% [?]