Tottenham Hotspur could make a January move for Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given (below), with new Spurs boss Harry Redknapp not convinced by current White Hart Lane No 1, Brazilian International Heurelho Gomes after a series of high profile blunders in his fledgling Premier League career to date.
Recent reports have linked the North London club, with England International’s Robert Green at West Ham United and Ben Foster at Premiership Champions Manchester United, but former Portsmouth manager Redknapp has now revealed that he would be interested in the 32-year-old Republic of Ireland International Given, if the keeper should become available.
Redknapp said: “Shay Given is a great goalkeeper who I admire. Any manager would have to be interested in him if he became available.”
Sources close to Given, who started his career at SPL side Celtic have claimed that the stopper, while happy at the Magpies has not a single trophy to show for his 15-years as a professional and is ready to leave St James’ Park, with United owner Mike Ashley eager to cash in on any assets at Newcastle before he sells the North East club.
A close friend of Given said: “Shay is widely regarded as one, if not the best, goalkeeper in the Premier League.
“Yet he has nothing to show for his ability as he has not won a major trophy in his entire career.
“He has always stated he is happy at Newcastle but the simple fact of the matter is he wants to win things. Although it will hurt him to do so, he is ready to leave Newcastle to achieve that.
“And he would be more than happy to go to a club like Tottenham where the club's potential under Harry is clearly enormous.”
Whether Spurs make an offer for Given, who would cost in the region of £7million, or indeed Green or Foster in January remains to be seen, but it appears that Redknapp has targeted the goalkeeper position at White Hart Lane as one department that needs strengthening, with Gomes almost certain to become an early casualty of the Redknapp era at Spurs.
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