Tottenham Hotspur Transfer News, Rumors: Spurs Closing on Scott Parker

The Guardian believes Harry Redknapp and Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on the signing of West Ham United midfielder Scott Parker. Spurs have been on the trail of Parker since last season and now that West Ham have been relegated a move seems much more likely.

The likelihood of the move could be bolstered by the sale of Wilson Palacios to Napoli and potentially Jermaine Jenas to anyone who might be interested. The fee for Parker is believed to be in the neighborhood of £8 million. The Guardian stated that as soon as the sale of Palacios is finalized Parker's deal will be completed.

Parker would certainly be a good addition to the squad, but £8 million for a player who might now even be guaranteed a starting position seems like a steep price to pay. Harry Redknapp has stated his desire to bring in veteran leadership to the club and with Parker, potentially, and the recently signed Brad Friedel he seems to be well on course to do just that.

The move, at that price, only makes sense if Spurs plan to play a 4-5-1 or 4-3-2-1. Parker is a terrier-esque midfielder with an excellent workrate. He is a tough tackler and the prospect of both he and Sandro playing behind Luka Modric or Rafael Van der Vaart is a little exciting. Such an approach, however, would also require the acquisition of a good striker to lead the line and almost certainly make either Luka or VDV surplus to demands.

Coincidentally, the article also mentions that Spurs have had an £11 million bid for Leandro Damião rejected and that Levy may need to raise his bid closer to £18 million in order to bring in the young striker. The Brazilian has a number of teams pursuing him, but with any luck he will soon be a Spurs player.