News, views, and rumour relating to Tottenham over the past 24 hours?
Tottenham have wrapped up the signing of Lewis Holtby on a pre-contract agreement, meaning he will officially become a Spurs player in July when his current contract at Schalke runs out. Liverpool were said to have tried to hijack the move earlier in the day, but Holtby rejected their advances. Holtby is an attacker who can play out wide or through the middle and although half-British, is the captain of Germany’s under-21 side.
He is the second signing at Spurs in two days, with Zeki Fryers confirmed yesterday. We take a look at how Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy pulled the wool over Manchester United’s eyes to avoid paying a tribunal fee, marking his reputation as one of the game’s best negotiators. We also examine how Fryers will feature at Spurs and whether he will join up with the first team straight away.
Sir Alex Ferguson has hit out at Spurs’ signing of Fryers and registered United’s discontent on the matter. He has also urged the FA to go a step further and investigate Tottenham searching for the trail of e-mails and phone calls.
One player who could be heading out shortly is Emmanuel Adebayor, to the African Nations Cup which begins on January 19, and could see him miss up to a month of action. Adebayor quit international football with Togo in December after a row over payment. Now he could be forced to change his stance after the President of Togo summoned the striker to a meeting to sort out the differences between the striker and the national FA.
Goal.com claim Spurs are still hoping to sign Joao Moutinho, lining up a £22 million bid. The club are likely to face competition from PSG and Zenit St Peterberg and this is one to watch over the coming month.
Amid all the transfer activity, Spurs have a game this weekend in the FA Cup at home to League One side Coventry City. Scott Parker has called on the side to score an early goal to avoid pressure building. Parker is expected to start in midfield along with Gylfi Sigurdsson, while Benoit Assou Ekotto is hoping to make his long awaited return at left-back.
image: © wonker
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