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Apparently Daniel Levy heard my request last week for a signing. Granted, Tottenham Hotspur only signed a 40-year old goalkeeper on a free transfer, but I suppose that's something. Perhaps if I use this space to ask for Lionel Messi that request will be granted as well. A guy can dream, can't he?
Anyways, this week's rumors, by and large, suck. We're being linked with old players with Premiership experience. They're not exciting. These are "Harry Players". Unfortunately, because Harry Redknapp is our manager, we're going to be linked with a lot of "Harry Players" and I'm going to be very grumpy for the remainder of the summer.
On to the Rumors!
It's Summer 2010 All Over Again: Not only have Spurs been linked extensively with Scott Parker of West Ham United, but now we're being linked with Liverpool flop Joe Cole. I was in favor of the Cole move last summer, mostly because he was free. At a reported cost of £3 million he's still a bargain (cheaper than Jamie O'Hara), but still not worth it. I'm really not sure how he fits into the squad and he's definitely not better than Niko Kranjcar and maybe even Giovanni dos Santos.
Why Would Anyone Want To Leave Monaco?: Sure it's a tax haven and there's lots of casinos and the whether is perpetually nice. What's not to like? Oh, wait. Monaco doesn't play in Ligue 1 anymore? That would probably explain why we're being associated with a move for Park Chu-Young. The South Korean forward could be available for just over £5 million and I feel very smart because I mentioned his name in my transfer rumor post last week. See Mom! I am using my journalism degree!Normally I'm Against Signing Former Gooners: I'm willing to make an exception for Lassana Diarra though. He seems to have fallen out of favor with Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid and I am all for bringing him to White Hart Lane. In fact, I'd prefer Diarra to Parker. His £12 million price tag seems a bit steep, but if you want quality you have to pay for quality. Diarra is a versatile player that could fill a number of roles for the club and despite our deep midfield would almost certainly get plenty of playing time.
Clearing Out The Deadwood: Queens Park Rangers manager Neil Warnock is looking to good friend and Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp to help him strengthen his squad for their upcoming Premier League campaign. Rumor has it that QPR are, at the very least, interested in acquiring Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane. Kyle Naughton also seems to be on Warnock's radar. I'm not to keen on letting Naughton go yet, but a loan with an option to buy may be worth it.
Three Meter Peter May Be Gone: Sunderland have, allegedly, made a £10 million approach for Peter Crouch. Sounds good. They can have him.
Player We're Not Being Linked With But Should Be: I'm running out of players that I want and that we haven't already been linked with. If I'm being honest, the weakest area of our squad, aside from striker, is right midfield. Sure Aaron Lennon is there, but I'm not his biggest fan and I think we need to start considering a replacement. Joaquin of Valencia is a name some of you may have heard before. He was linked with Spurs way back in 2008. He's 29 years old now, which puts him right in Harry's wheelhouse. Could be available for a relatively low price considering his age.
Player We're Actually Going To Buy...This Week: While the above section keeps getting harder this section keeps getting easier. All I have to do is pick a player with tons of Premier League experience that I wouldn't want and that's who we'll sign. If Scott Parker is coming in that removes the old stand-by of Charlie Adam from my list. Brad Friedel's signing means I can't use Shay Given. Maybe this is more difficult then I thought. How about Didier Drogba? The rumors regarding the Ivorian have cooled off lately which doesn't really mean much. Drogba may be a bit of a jerk, but he scores goals and because of that he'll always be welcome on my team.