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I, like Kevin, will be participating in a moratorium on discussion of a certain want-away Croatian. Henceforth, no rumors in Transfer Rumor Tuesday shall refer to replacements for said Croatian nor shall there be references to what could be done with the money from the potential sale of the aforementioned malcontent.
Also, I have sad news for everyone. This is the next to last Tottenham Hotspur Transfer Rumor Tuesday post, until sometime in early or mid-December. As much fun as this is doing it weekly for an entire year might drive me insane. So, once the window closes most wild and crazy transfer rumors will be discussed in the Hoddle and be accompanied by jokes about Harry Potter, Point Break, or whatever else is floating around in his head.
So, without further ado, on to the rumors:
Some News On Outgoing Players: Peter Crouch was conspicuously absent from the squad for yesterday's Premier League match against Manchester United. One possible explanation for that, which is circulating on various ITK forums, is that Crouch is the subject of a bid from Queens Park Rangers. Crouch and David Bentley are apparently the players QPR manage Neil Warnock is targeting with funds provided by new owner Tony Fernandes. The amount of Warnock's transfer kitty was believed to be only £10 million, which if QPR are interested in both Crouch and Bentley doesn't seem like enough money.
We Missed Falcao, How About Another Colombian: The particular Colombian I'm referring to is Wigan's Hugo Rodallega. Not so excited now are you? I'm sure you were hoping for Cristian Zapata or pretty much anyone other than Rodallega. Unfortunately it seems that the Latics striker is a target for both Spurs and Liverpool. Rodallega has netted only 22 times in 94 appearances for Wigan and as such would fit in perfectly with our current crop of strikers. Which is precisely why I will be passing.
Midfield Reinforcements: You know what Tottenham needs? More hipsters. Enter Joey Barton. I know this has been discussed several times, but it's a slow week and I'm grasping at straws here. New reports are linking the Newcastle midfielder with a move to White Hart Lane, but no transfer fee was discussed. Given our midfields performance against Manchester United and Barton's performance against Arsenal in the opening week, I can honestly say my mind is changed. I want Barton. Yes, he is a huge C U Next Tuesday, but you can't argue that are midfield couldn't use his quality and his steel.
Liverpool Have Too Many Midfielders: How will the Scousers solve this problem? It seems that one possible solution is to offload Dirk Kuyt on Tottenham Hotspur. I'm not sure if Kuyt's best position is winger or striker, but I certainly think there's a place for a player of his quality in our squad. He may find his opportunities at Anfield limited, especially once Steven Gerrard returns from injury and a move to London could make sense for the Dutchman. I'm torn on this move. I'm not sure how much sense it makes for either team, but I'd definitely like to see Kuyt in a Spurs shirt.
#WeNeedAStriker: I feel obligated to include this section even though there aren't any rumors to put here. My favorite from the past week is the belief that Emmanuel Adebayor could be had on a free transfer. I think this makes an incredible amount of sense. On a free transfer we could probably convince Adebayor to take a pay cut by offering him a sizable signing-on fee. That fee is made even more feasible by the fact that we won't be paying a transfer fee. Think about it. It could work.
Just In Case Gary Cahill Doesn't Come: Tottenham always need help in central defense and though Gary Cahill and Christopher Samba have been mentioned as long term targets it would appear that the fall-back plan is FC Twente's Douglas. The Brazilian center back is known for his aerial prowess and is, allegedly, regarded as one of the best central defenders in the Eredivisie. The Brazilian is just 23, and 6'4" would seem to possess the physical stature needed for the English game. I've never seen him play so I can't comment to much on how good he is, but this deal seems, on paper, to make some sense.
Player We're Not Being Linked With But Should Be: Maybe I'm just reactionary, but I think we need another midfielder. How about Yann M'Villa from Stade Rennais. The French midfielder was in excellent form last season and helped Rennes to a sixth place finish in Ligue 1. His valuation may be in the neighborhood of £15 million, but it'd be worth it. Having a midfield of M'Villa and Sandro sitting behind a more advance playmaker would certainly give our team a formidable spine. Arsenal are rumored to be in for the 21 year-old, mostly because he's 21 and French, but surely we can steal him away from Wenger.
Player We're Actually Going To Sign...This Week: Back on May 17th I stated that Lassana Diarra would be a player that Spurs would sign. It looks like I was right. The Frenchman's move seems to be a foregone conclusion at this point. Diarra has fallen well down the pecking order at Real Madrid and a move to White Hart Lane would be good for all parties. The lone stumbling block may be the players' wages, but it seems as though that will quickly be resolved and Diarra will be in a Spurs shirt soon.