With endless speculation surrounding the much mooted transfer of Luka Modric, it may be argued that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is biding his time to ensure Chelsea cough up the reported asking price of £40m, despite the Spurs chief earlier claiming that the Croatian playmaker would "not be sold at any price". Mr Levy has a history of making deals "in the nick of time" before the transfer deadline slams shut - the last gasp cut-price £8m swoop for Rafael van der Vaart being a prime example, in the knowledge that it benefitted Real Madrid to sell at this point Similarly, don't be surprised to see Modric depart from White Hart Lane, with Mr Levy this time in the knowledge that he has portrayed the image of a man who would require over and above the market value for the player if he were to sell.
These bargaining tactics may prove successful from an immediate commercial perspective, however Levy may have been better to have taken up the "early bird" deals example set by champions, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish have already made the majority of their summer signings, giving both sides the chance to enjoy the bulk of pre-season friendlies with new additions and allowing them the opportunity to blend into their new outfits, ready for the start of another competitive Premier League season. and whilst most experts and chariman would baulk at the £16m price of Phil Jones and the staggering £20m price tag of Jordon Henderson,
Today Sam Allardyce took the time to make the message from Upton Park loud and clear that if Spurs want to sign Scott Parker (a suitable positional replacement for Modric), then there would be no cut-price last minute deals for Tottenham, who have gained now notoriety for this tactic.
It would surely be better for Levy to sell Modric for £37m now, buy Parker for the reported asking price of £7m, leaving a net £30m to invest in some much needed firepower, being as Spurs' current strikeforce were the principle cause of failure to qualify for this term's Champions League - the richest prize in club football. Worse still, the game-playing could backfires, Parker is aquired by one of his many alternative suitors and 'Arry would be left with a player who does not want to be at the club, rather than bulging millions to splash out on fresh talent.
Should further revenue be generated by the sales of Pavlyucheko, Keane, Crouch and even Defoe (on the basis of his form last season), not too many tears would be shed on Bill Nicholson Way, and would accrue at least another £35m for the quartet. All of which could be pumped into immediate investment of premium strikers who would inevitably be given a better chance of endearing themselves to the White Hart Lane faithful from the beginning, if they were to feature in pre-season and build an understanding with the likes of Bale, Lennon and Modric/Parker who would be creating the bulk of their goalscoring opportunities.
Should the procrastination end now, Redknapp may be further garnished with riches if Levy accepts a fair price for all the nearly men, such as Jenas, Hutton, Palacios, Bentley, dos Santos and Krancjar (because he is outranked by the brilliant Gareth Bale) the hapless Heurelho Gomes for their true market value (fetching yet another accumulative figure of approximately £35m) and the subsequent new signings will have enjoyed the guidance of Harry Redknapp in the run up to the opening day's clash at home to Everton on August 13.
With an unenviable run of starting fixtures to tackle (with clashes against Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool account for three of their opening five matches, one would have thought it would be in Spurs' interest to "hit the ground running" this season to ensure give them the best possible opportunity of finishing 2011/12 in the top four.
As competitors for 4th place, Manchester City look set to secure the services of Argentine striking sensation, Sergio Aguero, for £40m from Atletico Madrid, it must pain Harry Redknapp to observe his fierest rivals bringing in world class stars, rather than stumbling along with the same players who failed him last year in the potentially vain hope that his paymaster will save a buck or two by waiting until the last minute to do business - when the season shall already be three matches old and potentially several points behind their rivals and then having to rely upon numerous unwanted players in his squad to salvage Tottenham's season.
Spurs once curiously splashed out £16.5m on Darren Bent to be fourth striker behind Berbatov, Keane and Defoe before he was suitably offloaded. However, were Bent now still at the club, he would now clearly be the club's number one choice front man.
In this column, we have generated around £100m by the departure of twelve players (Modric being the only major loss on the basis of last year), and the typically shrewd Redknapp would have unprecedented wealth to fill his boots in the transfer market. This needed to happen sooner.
So time is a factor and for all Spurs fans, let's hope Mr Levy doesn't keep the loyal Tottenham fans waiting too long before the unveiling of recognised signings for respectable prices who shall make a sudden impact at White Hart Lane in the forthcoming season and in turn shoot them towards Glory Nights at the Lane.
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