Rumour Round-Up

[Danners9]

http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2620&mode=nested&order=0&thold=0

"Taken from many sources around the UK, Europe and one from South America

Reports in Italy are claiming that Martin Laursen has already made up his mind regarding a move to England.
"Its looking like Martin wont be at Milan next season, with a couple of top Premiership clubs chasing his services, both of which are based in London"

Tottenham and Liverpool are keeping tabs on Czech star Tomas Rosicky. Chelsea reportedly offered Borussia Dortmund £12m for the midfielder but the move fell through before the deadline in January.

PSV midfielder Mark van Bommel will join Spurs in July. Kevin Hofland is also rumoured to be part of the deal.

According to South American media, Santos playmaker Diego is all set to sign for AC Milan to link up with his National team friend Kaka. His father also claims that Tottenham are still interested in the youngster, who has also received enquiries from London rivals Chelsea.

Valencia's Argentinian midfielder Pablo Aimar insists that the rumours linking him with a London move to Tottenham are way off the mark.
An insider at the Spanish club claims that its a done deal. Just how Spurs would pay over £15m is a still a mystery, however.

Brazilian defender Lucio is being tipped for a move to England to bolster the defence of one of the weakest in the Premiership.

AC Milan hardman Ivan Gattuso has said he is intruiged by the English Premiership and would like to move there when his current deal at AC Milan expires. Gattuso has been getting praise recently from Giovanni Trapattoni, who many believe is set to take over at Spurs.

Manchester City, Middlesboro and Tottenham Hotspur could be locked in a summer battle for FC Porto defender Ricardo Carvalho.

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce says he will try everything in his power to stop defender Matthew Upson joining Spurs.

Leeds United are set to offer Paul Robinson a wage increase to keep him at Elland Road next season. The troubled club have recently been rescued financially, but hope to bounce back into the Premiership with some of their top talent still on board.

Tottenham are reportedly offering 36 year old Deportivo veteran Mauro Silva a 1 year contract at White Hart Lane.

Monaco and PSG will make a move for Spurs striker Fredi Kanoute in the summer.

Hidetoshi Nakata wants a move away from Italy, with England or Spain his preference. Nakata has been linked several times with a switch to Arsenal, Spurs, Leeds, Barcelona and Deportivo.

Manchester United defender Jonathan Spector is a summer target of rivals Tottenham. The American has only featured in a handful of games for the English giants, but is highly regarded as one for the future.

Jamie McClen is set to move to White Hart Lane in June. The Newcastle midfielder has fallen out with staff at St.James Park. Derby County are also interested.

Morten Olsen is a shock candidate to take over at Tottenham this summer. Danish officials claim that Olsen has agreed to take over a managerless club but whether the club is Tottenham is questionnable"

Ok, so...

Laursen - Not a bad defender, and we do need one. If he's being let go, then let's grab him.

Rosicky - Too expensive i'd imagine? More of a Chelsea player.

MVB/Hofland - Looks almost signed and sealed, at least MVB is. Hofland is a late comer to this discussion but he's a defender and we do need one (deja vu ;)).

Diego - Long term target, Milan seem interested but Spurs have been there from the start.

Aimar - Way too much money. Chelsea target again.

Lucio - Barcelona player soon i thought?

Gattuso - I don't think Milan would let him go.

Carvalho - Looked ok for Porto, might not want to move to a mid-table English side. Might struggle like Postiga?

Upson - After saturday's "header", no thanks. Ex-Gooner too, but i don't care about that.

Robinson - Thought it was signed and sealed, but with a new board at Leeds that might not be true anymore.

Silva - Too old, however old he is we don't need more seniors.

Kanoute - Rumours of a bust up? I'd rather not let him go. We need competition.

Nakata - Lucrative deal, Parma need the cash and he's on loan at Bologna now. Decent midfielder, but Toda didn't work out so why would Nakata.

Spector - I know nothing, except on CM.

McClen - Don't really think he's that good. No thanks.

Olsen - Hmm? Not really sure on management prospects anymore.

[DigitalTron]

Whoa, where to start ...

Laursen: Sounds good if the price is right, we certainly need another central defender, and playing in Italy should have honed his tactical approach to the game.

Rosicky: Sounds like typical Spurs rumor to sell papers.

Van Bommel: Make it happen!! w00000h00000! :cool:

Hofland: I'd prefer Heitinga if we're getting a Dutch defender, but I'm glad we're looking at defenders.

Diego: I think we missed our chance in the summer, I expect that even if Milan doesn't pluck him that another Italian or Spanish team will swoop for him and that he'll accept a significantly smaller offer to play there, particularly Italy. If not Milan, I'd expect Inter or Juventus to get him.

Aimar: Awesome, but probably nothing more than a rumor to fuel paper sales. IMHO, he's an excellent central midfielder and would pair very well with Van Bommel.

Lucio: Unlikely. Excellent player but doesn't seem like the type who would want to be at Spurs. Also, he has too much interest from the Chelsea's of the world.

Gattuso: Awesome! IMHO, this guy is the best pure Dmid in the world today. He's the ultimate destroyer and hard-man. His wife is Scottish, and he's even proclaimed that he's really a Scott born in an Italian's body (those crazy Italians :D) so he may be open to moving to the Premiership. If an Italian coach, like Trap, becomes our manager, anything is possible. I also noticed that Milan is looking to pursue Edgar Davids, so they may be thinking that Gattuso may be moving on.

Carvalho: Not sure about this one.

Upson: Another bright young English central defending prospect ... bring him over!

Robinson: As a fan of Keller and of Leeds, I hope Leeds United re-signs Robbo.

Silva: Too old, I think we need to break away from that pattern, as too much of our wage bill is injured at any given time already.

Kanoute: Depends upon price of course, but he is our only true target forward, so if he were let go, I'd hope that it would be for a very large sum and that he were replaced with a top notch target forward, all of which seems unlikely. I doubt the French clubs are going to pay top dollar.

Nakata: A goldmine from a marketing standpoint, but I'm just not sure whether he's the answer. Good player, but he's so incredibly over-hyped and over-priced that it's hard to judge. He probably merits the salary, bloated as it is, because he generates so much merchandising and international interest. But with Spurs always sold out anyway, it's not like he'll add any attendance.

Spector: GREAT!!!!! I do know about Jonathon Spector, and he's going to be a tremendous player in the near future. He's obviously an inexperienced kid at this point, so projections are difficult, but, he's in the mold of a very young Maldini. He's big (6'0-6'1), fast, strong in the air both defensively and offensively, he has excellent ball skills with the ball at his feet (converted center-forward), good and improving tactical and positional sense, very good man-marking skills, and a lot of flair. He likes to win the ball on the tackle, then immediately fly upfield with it, which is most exciting. He is not reckless with the ball either. He seldom loses it on the dribble or makes the bad pass. Offensively he's great at the back, and defensively he's already pretty good. He's really a central defender, but could play very well in a 3 man backline on either side, or even in a pinch at either fullback in a 4 man backline. But, becoming a crossing machine (i.e. fullback) would be limiting his game more than you'd really want. I must admit that I've wanted him on all of my teams for quite some time. I was secretly hoping DC United could steal him in a later round draft-pick (before he became so hyped) in the MLS SuperDraft, but then along came Manchester United and swooped him away. He's done great for them in the reserves, and his runs from defense through myriad reserve teamers is quite well known by now. I'd love to see him parter Rio at Manchester United's central defense some day, but they're unlikely to take anyone from their own reserves to break into the first team that way. So, for a while I've been hoping that Spurs might actually bring him aboard. I think he'd instantly become our best central defense prospect in a good while, and he'd easily be in the same category as Sol, King and Gardner. Yeah, he's that kind of a prospect.

McClen: Don't know.

Olsen: Unfamiliar with him.
Sorry for the long post.

-Digital

[Danners9]

http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s341/st48534.htm?fromrss=1

Out:-
Richards to Southampton - £2.5m
Anderton to Portsmouth - Free Transfer
Bunjevcevic to Charlton - £1.5m

In:-
Van Bommel - £5m
Diego - 6m
Robinson - 2m
Dawson - 3m


I'd be happy with that.

[DigitalTron]

http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s341/st48534.htm?fromrss=1

Out:-
Richards to Southampton - £2.5m
Anderton to Portsmouth - Free Transfer
Bunjevcevic to Charlton - £1.5m

In:-
Van Bommel - £5m
Diego - 6m
Robinson - 2m
Dawson - 3m


I'd be happy with that.
Wow, the idea of getting 4.0 million pounds for Richards and Bunji is sheer ecstasy. I think it's overpaying for each one. Getting Van Bommel for 5 million is fantastic, as while his price may go down closer to the end of his contract, he's also wanted by many top clubs. I'd have thought that Diego's price would have gone UP not down, because he's more experienced and now has the all-valuable European Passport so that he doesn't count as a foreigner in any of the top leagues. I don't know about Dawson, but we definitely need a central defender, so I'm open to that one. Being a Leeds fan as well, I'd be sad to see Robbo go away from Leeds United, but if they have to sell, then they have to sell. Frankly, I'd rather he go to Arsenal for 10 million plus Pennant, but that's not going to happen. ;)

Yeah, I'd be quite happy with this set of rumors.

-Digital

[sendorange]

There are a lot of crazy rumours floating around. My personal favorite has to be that because Mark Hughes turned down the chance to be Trapp's No.2. the club are going to get Roy Keane as Trapps No 2 instead! So the claim is that this is Roy's last season as a fulltime player, but that ManYoo want him to prove himself elsewhere before they'll think of him in a coaching or Managerial position. The claim is also that like Gus Poyet, Roy has spent the past year getting his UEFA and FA coaching badges. How about that then?? :D

Oh and then there's:

THE CAPI PHENOMENOM
Tottenham scouts have been in Spain tracking 26-year-old £2.5m Real Betis midfielder Capi, according to reports. Spurs are scouting the world in search of quality players as the Tottenham revolution starts to pick up momentum. The lightly dozing London giants are still in line to get Italian national coach Giovanni Trapattoni as their new coach, with Mark Hughes as assistant and there are even quiet whispers that Bolton midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha is waiting until Trapattoni confirms his commitment to the cause before admitting his attentions to join Spurs.

http://www.football365.com/news/transfer_gossip/story_104680.shtml

[Winston Smith]

Excellent stuff. Let's hope it's true.

[sendorange]

I'm not keen on Okocha, and I'm quite hopeful he won't be signed. He's entertaining on his day, but hit and miss, too old and too expensive. I'm not convinced the club will sign him, even though he clearly wants a move to London on a fat salary.

[andylovesoccer]

mmmmmm.....Jay Jay
that would be cool
how much did we pay for Dean Dicks? 12m?

[Winston Smith]

I'm not keen on Okocha, and I'm quite hopeful he won't be signed. He's entertaining on his day, but hit and miss, too old and too expensive. I'm not convinced the club will sign him, even though he clearly wants a move to London on a fat salary.

I was referring more to the way it's reported that Trappatoni is a done deal. Time to buy a season ticket methinks.

[sendorange]

mmmmmm.....Jay Jay
that would be cool
how much did we pay for Dean Dicks? 12m?
8.1 million was apparently the figure. A real ripoff, but he was Hodd's main man at Southampton.... so hopefully this will be the last time the club do that sort of thing.

[Danners9]

I don't like Jay Jay either. A luxury player that we don't really need, entertaining yes but productive.. this season, not really.

[andylovesoccer]

8.1 million was apparently the figure. A real ripoff, but he was Hodd's main man at Southampton.... so hopefully this will be the last time the club do that sort of thing.

your figure is in pounds, correct?

[Danners9]

Yes £'s.