According to the Daily Express, Middlesbrough have rejected Spurs’ £9m offer for Downing, which is well short of a £15m price that has been quoted.
You can expect Tottenham to come in with another offer, whether it’s tomorrow, next week, or some other time in the future, but Gareth Southgate seems to be pretty intent on keeping Downing, even if that £15m price is met. And if that happens, that could force Spurs to potentially make a loan move for former Liverpool man Luis Garcia.
Spurs have also struck out thus far with West Ham’s Craig Bellamy, and it appears that Portsmouth’s Jermain Defoe could be out of their price range, with Pompey said to be asking for £20m, according to the Daily Mirror.
But Defoe is apparently not the only Pompey player Harry Redknapp could be in for, as The Guardian has reported that Portsmouth rejected a £30m offer from Tottenham for Defoe, Glen Johnson, and Peter Crouch. Two of those three look likely to leave in January, as Johnson is being linked with Liverpool, but it doesn’t seem plausible for Tony Adams would let both Crouch and Defoe go in January.
That’s a report that Redknapp has denied (Daily Mail), but his interest in Defoe has been openly confirmed.
However, as is the case with several of their targets and many currently in-demand names, some high fees are being commanded, whether or not they’re actually merited. And even though Tottenham have plenty of money to spend, they don’t seem intent on overpaying in order to bolster their squad.
But in the end, they may have to overpay if they want to make the necessary reinforcements, so that’s a stance that may change in the next month.
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