All through the January transfer window, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp insisted that he would be surprised if they brought anyone to the club. But in the last minutes of the window, Tottenham signed two players. Eidur Gudjohnsen was first to join the squad from Monaco and then Younes Kaboul followed from Portsmouth. Gudjohnsen is excited about the prospect of being back in England, having previously had a spell at Chelsea, and Kaboul was welcomed back to White Hart Lane, having previously been a Hotspur.
Redknapp summed up his thoughts on the transfer window on the official Spurs site. On Gudjohnsen he said, “Eidur is a terrific player who can play several different roles within the team. He can play up-front, off the front or in a midfield role. He is just a clever footballer. He had a great spell at Chelsea where he played in a three-man midfield with two wide men and one up top and they were really successful. He gives you options with your system. You don’t play at Barcelona or Chelsea unless you are a top player.
“He’s a terrific character as well and he’ll be good around the place, you need good people around,” he added. “I have always admired him as a player. We were after him for a couple of weeks, then West Ham came in for him but before their takeover we had been on his trail, in contact with his people, and I am pleased we eventually got him.”
Harry expressed his happiness in signing Kaboul as well. He said, “I am delighted that we got Younes too. I remember going to watch him when he was at Tottenham first time around at Fulham when I was still Portsmouth manager and every corner he came and won. I tried to take him to Portsmouth before he joined Spurs but I missed out on him on that occasion. I thought he lacked a little bit of concentration when I took him from Tottenham to Portsmouth but he is 18 months older now and he has matured a lot. He is a better player than when he left here and he is better for the experience. He has everything to be a top player – pace, great in the air, strong. He has got a great chance of going to the World Cup with France. I think he has got a big future here.”
“It is hard to keep everyone happy when you have so many top players who are used to playing and want to play but are not in the side on a regular basis. Sometimes it can present a problem and that is why we have allowed some of the lads to go out on loan, because they need to play,” he continued.
The transfer window also saw Kyle Walker return from loan at Sheffield United, as Kyle Naughton went out to Middlesboro. “That gave us a chance to bring Kyle Walker back and see what he can do. We bought him at the start of the season but decided to leave him at Sheffield United to get experience and he has been in great form there. We feel he is a player with a big future and he is going to be right in the picture here now, pushing for a place in the team,” he said.
“We did try for another goalkeeper too. We thought we had Asmir Begovic from Portsmouth – he came here with his agent, had a medical on Friday but in the end decided to go to Stoke. That is how it goes sometimes. We did not get too close to doing anything else in that position besides that. I was looking for a bit of cover for Heurelho Gomes, but we do already have Ben Alnwick, a young lad who is a good goalkeeper and won’t let us down, as well as Jimmy Walker so we have backup in that area.”
“Overall, I think the squad looks fine. Hopefully it will not be too long before the likes of Aaron Lennon, Benoit Assou-Ekotto are back to fitness, so we should have a strong enough squad to continue our challenge at the top end of the table.”
As new faces came in, several went out on loan. The biggest loan was Robbie Keane to SPL side, Celtic. Keano had fallen to third choice striker in the squad and was lacking game time.
“I felt we had enough strikers to let Robbie Keane go to Celtic,” Redknapp said. “It was a loan move that he obviously fancied and I didn’t want to stand in his way. He had not been in the team lately, I’ve been starting with Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe and I could tell he was a bit low about it all so when this opportunity came it was something he wanted to do because Celtic were his team as a boy. It is only a loan.”
Jamie O’Hara also agreed a loan deal to stay with Portsmouth until the end of the season and Alan Hutton has been loaned out to Sunderland. Giovani dos Santos, Jake Livermore, and Andros Townsend are all out to various clubs, and Spurs youngsters Troy Archibald-Henville and Tomas Pekhart have left the club permanently.
Center-back Michael Dawson signed a new contract and is happy to commit his future to the club. Redknapp said, “I was also pleased to see Michael Dawson sign a new contract with the Club last month, he has been in great form. He has also stepped in to captain the side recently and has done a good job. He is a real leader and leads by example.”
Spurs now continue their race for the last Champions League place.
Jill Guthrie
