The two most active Premiership teams in this winter transfer window have, without a doubt, been Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Spurs have already signed Wilson Palacios ( £14m), Pascal Chimbonda ( £3m) and Jermaine Defoe ( £15m). City have signed Craig Bellamy, Nigel De Jong and and Wayne Bridge ( the three together have cost well over £40m). And now both the teams are slugging it out for the services of Blackburn Rovers’ Roque Santa Cruz, who is expected to cost somewhere in the region of £20m.
It is slightly odd considering they had allegedly joined hands to allow Palacios’ transfer to go through.
Santa Cruz has been linked with a transfer to City ever since Mark Hughes left Ewood Park for Eastlands. City have had several bids rejected for the Paraguyuan, who shined under Hughes last season at Rovers.
Spurs are also seeking another striker, in addition to their current line that already includes Pavlyuchenko, Defoe and Bent. Harry Redknapp is prepared to offer Blackburn a player ( Jenas/Lennon) + some cash for Santa Cruz ( the same rumour that has been going on with Robbie Keane). Fred’s transfer has broken down after the Brazilian’s agent claimed that Spurs had never called his client to London.
I agree tapping-up has always been central to player transfers. The media love to run with, and sensationalise Tottenham stories and this is just another example of turning an otherwise weak, general story into something more than it is by linking it with Spurs.