Left footers Diego Capel and Hatem Ben Arfa have both been  linked recently but do Spurs need them? With the alarming dip in penetration and creativity in the Tottenham side since the injury to Luka Modric, it is highly tempting to say yes. But that would ignore the fact that Gio Dos Santos has also been out injured for the duration of Modric’s absence and that Niko Kranjcar is only just beginning to show signs of settling properly in the side.  With Modric due for a return to action in Tottenham’s next match against Wigan and Dos Santos due back shortly, is this knee-jerk stuff from the press? And would the raw talents of Ben Arfa and Capel offer anything that we don’t already have?

The need for another ball winning central midfielder however is an entirely different story and an intriguing one too. Harry Redknapp has gone on record with his admiration for both Sulley Muntari and Sandro this season. And with Wilson Palacios the only other ball winner in the Spurs squad, you can see why. However, there are complications with both transfers; Muntari  isn’t too chuffed about turning his back on the guaranteed medals on offer at Inter this year and the Sandro waters are being muddied by a pesky Tevez style third party ownership scenario.

A few months back there were strong murmurs on the boards about one Miguel Veloso turning up at The Lane. An outrageously good player with equally outrageous off field problems, Veloso is a proper ‘Arry signing.  Villa and Bolton are the other teams to have been linked with him recently and so he’s probably gettable. If the Muntari and Sandro deals fall through, don’t be surprised to see a Spurs move for Veloso.

Whatever happens, it should be a fun month in January. I want a top-notch central defender though. Thoughts on who?

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

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Here’s Gio Dos Santos talking about Wilson Palacios’ Honduras making it to the World Cup.

“I hope Wilson makes it. He’s my friend and I want the best for him.

“Honduras have some very good players. They have been doing well in the qualification and they need four points from their two games to make it to the World Cup.

“They can do it but they have two difficult games and the first one is against the USA. That will be a massive game but if they win it, I think they will be in the World Cup.

“Wilson is a big player for them and if Honduras make it to South Africa I will be so happy for him.”

“We need one win and we play El Salvador at home on Saturday, so that would be perfect.”

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

Gio Dos Santos has told us that he wants to stay and fight for his place at Tottenham. He told Spurs official site:

“I think the coach knows I’m a good player and I want to do well for Tottenham. I came here to play, I love the fans and they’ve always supported me and I have everything here.”

This is great news, he’s obviously got something and Redknapp seems to be managing him well. Maybe he needed knocking down a few pegs last season after coming in from Barcelona?

Roman Pavlyuchenko however looks like he’s off back to Russia with Zenit sniffing around and a bid of £12m reportedly in the offing. He’s just at the wrong stage of his career for a battle of the magnitude of that facing him if he wants to get into the Spurs team. Pity, but that’s life.

Sport.co.uk yesterday revealed that Sulley Muntari’s agent is in talks with Spurs and Inter about the Ghanaian moving to The Lane.

I can’t believe the negativity around about this guy coming to Spurs.  Yes he’s not wanted by Inter but that doesn’t make him automatically pap. He was top notch at Portsmouth and has been brilliant at times for Inter too. He had a spat with Mourinho about Ramadan fasting earlier in the season and has since been used sporadically. His dodgy situation at Inter smacks  of a personal problem between him and Jose, not a football one.  Also, he’s not a left winger as many have been saying he is! He can play there but his main position is central midfield. Muntari would act as a partner for Palacios or a replacement if Wilson gets injured. He’d also provide some proper competition for Jermain Jenas – if Mr Marmite is still at the club.

If you didn’t catch it yesterday, here’s a great video of Muntari showing off his tackling, shooting and passing.

When Muntari was being linked with Spurs over the summer, it was in a swap deal for Jenas. We all know about Mourinho’s respect for Jermain. Could this be what’s on the cards?

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

“He is going to be out for a good few weeks unfortunately,” Redknapp told the club’s official website.

“He came back and was in good form and showed a good attitude and looked nice and sharp so this is a setback.”

Blows. Lets hope he gets another chance.

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

“If Giovani came then we would be able to count on a quality player who has huge potential and can help raise the level of the team,” he told by AS.

“He is a great player and I am not just saying that because he is Mexican too but because he is going through a very good time on a personal level.

“In his club side though he is not being given much time to play and it would be great if he went to another team because he is a very important player for Mexico and if he came here then even better.”

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

Mexico federation executive Nestor De La Torre told Reforma: “He has a problem with a tendon in his left ankle, and it’s something that could keep him out for three weeks,”

“So he won’t be on the roster. The recovery time won’t allow it.”

Gio being out for three weeks means that he will be back at roughly the same time as Luka Modric. This just makes you wonder; has Gio missed his big chance to shine in the Croatian’s absence? And will he get another chance before January?

With the World Cup coming up and if the answer to the above questions is no, I fear that we’ll be seeing another loan for Dos Santos in January or possibly even a transfer away altogether. I hope not because you just get that feeling with Gio that he might be a bit special.

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

However, the article in The Sun also says that Gio is ‘in hell’ at Spurs and that’s he’s a ‘flop’ who can’t wait to leave. It’s when they start using language like that that you know they’re spouting crap. He didn’t look like he was in hell against Preston in midweek and Harry has recently spoken about Gio’s big chance at Spurs.

More tabloid nonsense? I hope so.

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

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Harry Redknapp has spoken of his disappointment at seeing Giovanni Dos Santos limp off with an injury during Spurs’ 5-1 win at Preston last night.

“He was on the end of a bad tackle and injured his ankle.

“It was a shame because I was looking forward to seeing him play. He’s in a protective boot and we’ll have to wait and see how it is.”

The timing couldn’t be worse for young Gio who was playing well against Preston until the 16th minute when he was forced off after a crunching tackle from Ross Wallace. With Redknapp and his coaching staff still experimenting with a solution for the left side in Luka Modric’s absence, this could be Gio’s big chance. Lets hope it’s not serious and he’s around to take it.

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

Here’s Harry Redknapp on Giovanni Dos Santos who looks set to play against Preston tonight:

‘He let himself down last year,’ said Redknapp. ‘He wasn’t in good shape, he didn’t look after himself. Now he’s fitter, leaner and has great ability.

‘I’ve spoken to his mum and dad, they came to see me. I told them he had a big chance and they said he had off the field issues and didn’t do himself any favours.

‘The penny has dropped, about applying himself and adapting himself. He found it hard to get into training on time, and different stuff. He’s realised he can’t do that here, he’s toed the line.’

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures – Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)

Giovanni Dos Santos has dumped his Mexican pop star girlfriend Belinda Peregrín Schüll after she was caught on camera doing the dirty with another bloke in a night club.

She has since claimed that the footage was fabricated and she had been set up but Gio is having none of it.

Below is the offending camera footage. Maybe Gio will concentrate more on his football now?

• VIDEO: Best of Harry Redknapp interviews including loads of Effing and Blinding (2 Comments)
• Redknapp explains Keane and Hutton departures -- Both still have Spurs futures (30 Comments)
• Veloso To Spurs? Agent: “We Will See Soon”… (10 Comments)
• Begovic Deal Back On? (4 Comments)
• Frantic Dash To Seal £10m Striker Switch (8 Comments)