*
Ghanaian International Stephen Appiah is on the verge of joining Tottenham Hotspur after passing a medical at the Premier League club and agreeing personal terms at White Hart Lane, according to reports.
28-year-old Appiah had been training with the Premiership club, with Spurs manager Harry Redknapp keen to land the free agent if the former Juventus player impressed, while training with the Spurs first team.
Appiah became a free agent in the summer when his contract, was terminated by Turkish side, Fenerbahce. Redknapp had been linked with a move for the combative midfielder while in charge at Portsmouth, with Celtic, Schalke, West Ham United, Arsenal and former team Juve all reportedly interested in the Ghanaian.
One consideration for the North London club had been that Appiah is still coming back from a serious knee injury, but with it believed that the former Juve enforcer has passed a medical and agreed terms it remains to be seen if Redknapp is ready to throw Appiah straight into the team that faces Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
Although the acquisition of Appiah might be seen as a gamble by some, there can be no doubt that when fully fit the Ghanaian is a dominant midfielder, with the lack of a transfer fee reducing the risk for Tottenham. The length of the deal on offer is not known, but could be a short-term deal until the season.
Tottenham Hotspur could make a swoop for Ghanaian International Stephen Appiah after FIFA ruled that the former Juventus midfielder is a free agent following his split from Turkish side Fenerbahce in the summer.
New Spurs manager had been heavily linked with a move for 27-year-old Appiah during the summer, while in charge of Portsmouth along with Premier League rivals Arsenal, with Redknapp declaring an interest in the combative midfielder back in September.
“I'd love to sign Appiah and we are interested in him but it's going to be tough to get him,” said Redknapp in September.
“There are a lot of clubs chasing him, clubs like West Ham and Arsenal, and I’m sure Juventus will want him back as well.
“He's a terrific player for somebody on a free. I've asked about him in the past and I watched him plenty of times when I was looking at Sulley Muntari and they played together for Ghana.”
However, Pompey were forced to pull out of the race to sign Appiah, with Redknapp conceding that the midfielder’s wage demands were a major stumbling block in bringing Appiah to Fratton Park.
Now at Tottenham Redknapp has much more financial clout at his disposal at White Hart Lane and could reignite his interest in a player that he has always admired, but will face competition from Premiership clubs West Ham, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, who are reportedly going to watch Appiah in action for Ghana against Tunisia this week.
Appiah meanwhile is being cautious and insisted that he just wants to start playing regularly again after only recently overcoming a career threatening knee injury, with the Ghanaian International declaring that the decision on his next club is a huge one.
“We will see,” he said to KickOffGhana.com.
“I want to get back playing week in, week out as quickly as possible so I can understand why people are worried. But I don’t need to be in a rush because this is a huge decision.”
Posts
