Since his arrival at Tottenham Hotspur as manager from Portsmouth, Harry Redknapp has been linked with a number of goalkeepers, with the former Pompey boss not convinced about error prone Brazilian International Heurelho Gomes.
Newcastle United’s keeper Shay Given along with Robert Green at West Ham United and Premier League Champions Manchester United’s Ben Foster have all been linked with Spurs, with Redknapp revealing that he would be interested in bringing Republic of Ireland International Given to White Hart Lane. Should he become available.
However, Magpies manager Joe Kinnear has declared that Given will not be allowed to leave St James’ Park should Spurs come calling in January, with Kinnear eager to keep Given, who is an integral part of the United team in the North East.
Kinnear, who used to play for Tottenham has even claimed that it would not be worth Redknapp’s time to even make the call to Newcastle, with Kinnear adamant that Given will stay at St James’ Park.
“I can save Harry the time and money and tell him not to bother even picking up the telephone, because there is no way Shay Given will be leaving this club,” Kinnear told the Newcastle Evening Chronicle.
“We want to build up Newcastle United and get good players in, not good players out.
“And why would he want to go to Spurs? This is a bigger club than Spurs.”
Recent reports however, suggest that the decision might not be down to the Newcastle boss alone, with it understood that Magpies owner Mike Ashley is keen to sell any assets at the North East club before he sells the club itself and a source close to Given recently revealing that the Irishman could leave Newcastle in order to win trophies.
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.”
So whether Kinnear can hold on to Given, who has been at Newcastle since 1997 remains to be seen as Given could choose to leave for Spurs if he feels his chances of collecting silverware are greater in North London.
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