News, views and gossip from the new, first and last voice of football. As it happens, when it unfolds, the glory the heartache, win, lose or draw. Who they got, who they ain't, what they won, what they threw away.
Premier League clubs Arsenal, Hull City, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, will be on alert today after Eredivisie club FC Twente revealed that they have rejected a bid from Dutch rivals Ajax for winger Eljero Elia.
21-year-old Elia has attracted strong interest from the Premiership, but Ajax, are the first club to make a firm offer for the Dutch International. However, with so many clubs interested in the talented Dutchman, Twente chairman Joop Munsterman has revealed the bid by Ajax to lure Elia to the Amsterdam Arena, which he has confirmed was rejected out of hand and even went as far as to call the offer an “insult”.
“Ajax have made an offer for Eljero [Elia], but we're not even considering it,” Munsterman told TC/Tubantia.
“Ajax's offer was an insult for a player of Elia's level.”
The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Manchester City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is understood to have been at the European clash to run the rule over Elia personally.
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in England one day.
McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 7 goals in 45 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should a decent offer and the Premier League beckon in January.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to make a fresh approach for Swiss International Gokhan Inler at Serie A side Udinese, when the transfer window reopens next month, with the Gunners reportedly ready to meet the £8million clause in the defensive midfielder’s contract that would allow Inler to leave for the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger is keen to add some steel to the midfield at the North London club, having seen Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto depart the Premiership club in the summer for AC Milan and Panathinaikos respectively, which has left a huge hole in the Arsenal midfield this season.
Inler has been at Udinese since joining from Swiss side FC Zurich in 2007 and is an established member of the Bianconeri side, which finished 7th in the Scudetto last season and qualified for the UEFA Cup. The midfielder has made 43 appearances in Serie A for Udinese and has three years to run on his present deal at the Italian side
24-year-old Inler was the subject of an offer from the Premier League club in the summer, but was not keen on a move to England from Udinese. With it remaining to be seen if Inler will be ready to leave the Stadio Friuli in January, should Arsenal decide to make the £8million offer needed to lure Inler to the Emirates.
Newcastle United manager Joe Kinnear is planning to swoop for Paris St Germain’s teenage defender Mamadou Sakho, when the transfer window reopens in January, according to The People.
The Magpies have already been linked with 18-year-old Sakho last April, with previous Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan keen on bringing the versatile defender to St James’ Park. With new boss Kinnear now reportedly ready to reignite the Premier League clubs interest in Sakho, who has already captained PSG making him the youngest captain in Ligue 1 history aged 17.
Newcastle are understood to have sent scouts to watch Sakho in action against Dutch side FC Twente in the UEFA Cup last week, with scouts from other Premiership clubs also at the game to watch the defender that can play as right-back or as a central defender.
Sakho has come through the youth system at PSG, joining the club as an 11-year-old and making his senior debut in 2007, with the defender, who is valued at around £6million already making 20 appearances for PSG during his fledgling career at the Parc des Princes.
Newcastle have already got French defender Sebastien Bassong at St James’ Park, who was a summer signing from FC Metz and should they follow up their initial interest in Sakho, will hope that the teenager can settle into the rigours of the Premier league as quickly as Bassong has at the Toon.
Fraizer Campbell is set to start in the UEFA Cup clash for Tottenham against Spartak Moscow on Thursday, with England International Darren Bent the latest Spurs player to be ruled out of the game at White Hart Lane as he has tonsillitis.
Bent joins captain Ledley King (knee) and Jonathan Woodgate, who has a back injury, while Jermaine Jenas has a calf tear and Alan Hutton a metatarsal fracture, with Mexican Giovanni also missing due to a sprained ankle.
Summer signings Vedran Corluka and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko (left) are both cup-tied, leaving Campbell, who is on loan from Premier League Champions Manchester United as the only recognised forward at the North London club.
Due to this injury crisis Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is set to blood some of the youngster’s at Spurs in this final group game with Spartak. First year academy players 16-year-old John Bostock and Dean Parrett along with reserve team players Danny Rose and Dorien Dervite and second year academy players Adam Smith and 18-year-old John Obika are all set to be included in the squad for the UEFA tie.
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has moved quickly to warn La Liga Champions Real Madrid off winger Ashley Young, with the former Celtic boss insisting that Young “is certainly not for sale”.
23-year-old Young had become the latest Premier League player wanted by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos, who is now in charge of Los Merengues, with a £25million swoop for the former Watford player in January being mooted by the new Bernabeu boss.
Ramos is keen to add some fresh faces to his injury deleted squad at Real, with his former charges at Spurs, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Didier Zokora, David Bentley and Aaron Lennon also reportedly on the Ramos radar.
Young however, will not be leaving the Villans, according to O’Neill, who managed to keep hold of Liverpool target Gareth Barry in the summer, with the Irishman also revealing that he didn’t “know anything about” the interest from the Spanish side.
Talking to the official club site O’Neill said “I don't know anything about it but he's certainly not for sale.”
England International Young joined Villa from Watford in 2007 for £9.75million, with the winger scoring 16 goals in 75 appearances while at Villa Park and also chipping in with 28 assists. Young along with Villa captain Martin Laursen, Barry, James Milner and striker Gabriel Agbonlahor are all due to be left in England for the Midlands club crunch UEFA Cup tie in Hamburg on Wednesday.
Chelsea are set to join Premier League Champions Manchester United in the race for Belgian starlet Axel Witsel, who plays for Standard Liege, according to reports.
Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be a big admirer of 19-year-old midfielder Witsel and is reported as already having a £19million offer turned down for the Belgian International last month.
Now Chelsea are believed to have made enquiries about the Les Rouches player, who has already made 78 appearances, scoring 16 goals in the process since making his senior debut for Standard in 2006 after coming through the youth set-up at the Belgian club and was a pivotal figure in Standard winning their first league title in 25 years last season.
Standard Liege however, are in no hurry to let their prodigy leave the Stade Maurice Dufrasne, having already sold one of their stars Marouane Felliani to Premiership club Everton in the summer for £15million, with it unlikely that Wisel will be allowed to leave in January, while the Belgian side are still involved in the UEFA Cup.
This would mean Chelsea having to wait until next summer before starting a bidding war with the Red Devils for the signature of Witsel, with the Blues hoping to have sneaked in to do a deal for Witsel, while United were away at the World Club Championships in Japan.
As a football writer and lifelong Spurs supporter I often get asked, who is my favourite player of all time for Tottenham Hotspur. The trouble is there have been so many good players at White Hart Lane over the years that it is not an easy choice to make. Some I have had the pleasure of seeing and some unfortunately I have not.
So if I keep to the obvious ones Danny Blanchflower, Jimmy Greaves, Gary Mabutt, Glenn Hoddle, Ossie Ardiles, Ricky Villa, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, David Ginola, Gary Lineker, Teddy Sheringham, Jurgen Klinsman, Ray Clemence, Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, with most of these names being players I have seen play over the years for Tottenham.
Sorry if I have missed anyone out or included anyone you think not worthy, but as I say Spurs have had the privilege of some fantastic players putting on the white shirt at the North London club over the years. However, my all-time favourite Tottenham player is not on the list above either. Nor do I think that he would make the list of any fly-by-night Spurs fan, for the player that has stuck in my mind since I had the complete and utter privilege of watching him play for Tottenham, as I was a young teenager in the 80’s is one Graham Roberts.
Now Roberts might not have been blessed with the skill of most of the players on the list above, for this was a defender, who did not know how to give 100% because he always gave more, much more. Roberts, was the type of player that if you were picking teams in the school playground, you would pick him first and simply for the reason that you would rather have him on your side than have to play against him. For Roberts was the type of player that if he were to die trying to score a goal or prevent one then he would have felt that his life was worthwhile.
Roberts arrived at White Hart Lane in 1980 from Weymouth aged 21 and a relative unknown, which raised questions of the then Tottenham manager Keith Burkinshaw. Now during this period at Spurs, Burkinshaw already had flair players like Hoddle along with 1978 World Cup winners Villa and Ardiles at The Lane, with most of the plaudits for the two FA Cups wins in 1981 & 1982 along with the UEFA Cup win in 1984 going to this trio, although Villa had left before the UEFA Cup triumph to earn a final payday in the United States, with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
You see I don’t think Spurs would have won anything without Roberts in this period. His never say die attitude and his willingness to give his all until the 90 minutes was up inspired those around him and most definitely inspired me. For Roberts would have carried on if a match, was 900 minutes long giving more than 100%. He simply did not know any other way.
But Roberts was more than a defender who gave his all. He scored goals to and vital ones and had he chosen to play upfront at an early age would have scored even more. For to get between Roberts and the ball, was taking your life in your own hands, because Roberts simply wanted to get to the ball more than any opponent he ever faced.
So why is he my favourite player? Simple Roberts gave me my three best moments as a Spurs fan, better than Gazza’s free kick against Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final at the old Wembley, better than Villa’s wonder goal against Manchester City in the FA Cup final replay in 1981 and better than Hoddle’s 35-yard volley past Peter Shilton in his prime against Nottingham Forest. Even better than the 40-yard goal that the Argos Beckham scored against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium recently.
The first incident was in the same game as the Villa wonder-goal, Roberts was involved in a collision and as a result had three of his teeth knocked out. Against doctor’s advice he remained on the pitch completed the full 90 minutes and Spurs won the FA Cup. Would that happen nowadays? Of course not, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba knocked out Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidić's teeth out in a match recently and the Serbian defender was duly stretchered off the pitch not to return. Medical fact that you can't walk if your teeth fall out and Vidić is considered tough by modern standards, but wouldn't have lasted five minutes against Roberts.
The second incident was in the second leg of the UEFA Cup final in 1984 against Belgian side Anderlecht, with Tottenham 1-0 down from the first leg in Belgium and only 5 minutes left on the clock at White Hart Lane, Roberts popped up to score the equaliser and take the game into extra-time, which Spurs eventually won on penalties.
The third incident like the first was all what Roberts was about. Arsenal had signed Charlie Nicholas from Celtic, whose playboy image off the pitch had earned him the nickname ‘Champagne Charlie’. Nicholas was the complete opposite of Roberts in fact they were worlds apart in how they played the game. Roberts was never one for fancy dans or reputations as Nicholas found out in a North London derby, when a crunching tackle from Roberts put the Scot into the stands and became a true hero in my eyes. The White Hart Lane faithful even started a chant about this incident, such was the glee of seeing ‘Champagne Charlie’ climb back over the advertising hoardings looking a little shaken to say the least.
So that is why Roberts is my favourite Tottenham player of all time, because he gave his all, was a true hardman in every sense of the word and inspired others around him, while being perfectly happy to not be in the limelight and just be playing the game he loved.
Graham Roberts I salute you.
For some reason Roberts was only capped for England 6 times and when he left Spurs enjoyed success, with both Glasgow Rangers and Chelsea before finishing his professional career at West Bromwich Albion.
Arsenal are tracking two players at former England manager Steve McClaren’s Eredivisie side FC Twente, with winger Eljero Elia along with defender Douglas (below) both reportedly on the radar of Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
21-year-old Elia is also a target for Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Hull City, Blackburn Rovers and Everton, with the Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn believed to have watched Elia in action for Twente against Manchester City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium. Wenger is believed to have been at the European clash to run the rule over Elia personally.
Arsenal’s chief scout Steve Rowley is also understood to have watched Elia play for Twente against SC Heerenveen in the Eredivisie recently, with the young Dutchman putting in an electric performance.
Wenger is also believed to be interested in Twente’s Brazilian defender Douglas, with the Frenchman seeing the 20-year-old as a good prospect for the future at the Emirates Stadium.
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership one day. While, Douglas has been at the Dutch side since his transfer from Joinville EC also in 2007.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that the UEFA Cup is not a priority for Spurs, with the former Portsmouth boss instead insisting that the Premier League is most important to the North London club.
Spurs are due to face Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, with Redknapp set to include youngsters John Bostock (left), Yaser Kasim, Adam Smith, Ryan Mason and and John Obika in the Tottenham squad to face the Dutch side.
Redknapp will rest more senior members of the Spurs squad ahead of the Premiership clash with Everton at White Hart Lane on Sunday, with Redknapp insisting it is important to keep Tottenham’s recent run going due to the tight situation in the Premier League this season.
“We have to be honest, the league is what is most important to us,” Redknapp said.
“We have to keep the run going because the league is so tight. We've had a great run and we're still down there."
Loan signing from Manchester United, Fraizer Campbell could be in line to start for Spurs due to Russian International Roman Pavlyuchenko being cup-tied along with defender Vedran Corluka.
Prolific Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has revealed that he would be open to a move to the German Bundesliga, which will come as a shock to Premier League sides Arsenal and Manchester City along with La Liga Champions Real Madrid, who have all been strongly linked with the Dutch International.
25-year-old Huntelaar opted to stay at the Amsterdam Arena over the summer, despite being heavily linked with a host of top European sides. However, Huntelaar has not signed a new deal with Ajax and recent reports have claimed that the Dutch club are actively looking for a replacement after resigning themselves to losing Huntelaar in the January transfer window.
Despite being heavily linked with City, Real and the Gunners, Huntelaar has revealed that he would be open to a move to Germany should the right offer come along.
“I can imagine that I will play in the Bundesliga one day. But at the moment I am fully focused on Ajax. When a club comes by with a big bag of money though, Ajax will have to consider,” said Huntelaar.
“If it is better for me and for the club, it can be possible that Ajax will decide to sell me.
Ajax, travel to Germany to face Hamburg in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, with Huntelaar revealing that another Bundesliga side, Schalke 04, have already made enquiries about his availability.
“That's correct. Schalke 04 wanted to sign me," he said.
“It happens more often that interested club contact us. As a striker I am always interesting for other clubs.”
Huntelaar has been at Ajax since his move from SC Heerenveen in 2005 and has scored an incredible 75 goals in 90 league appearances during his time at the Amsterdam Arena, making the striker one of the hottest properties in Europe.
Arsenal are being linked with a swoop for Hull City, Blackburn Rovers and Everton target Eljero Elia at Eredivisie side FC Twente, who are managed by former England boss Steve McClaren.
The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched 21-year-old Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Man City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is believed to have been at the European clash to run the rule over Elia personally.
It seems that the North London club are preparing to make a move for 21-year-old Elia in January, with De Telegraaf claiming that Gunners chief scout Steve Rowley was in Holland at the weekend to see Elia turn in an electric performance in the 6-0 rout of SC Heerenveen. (see video)
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership one day.
McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 6 goals in 43 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should the Premier League beckon in January.
Young Dutch star Eljero Elia has claimed that he will continue to give “100%” for Eredivisie side FC Twente, despite reports linking the striker with a move to the Premier League in January, with Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, Everton and Hull City all said to be interested in bringing Elia to England.
The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched 21-year-old Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Man City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium.
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership.
McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 6 goals in 43 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should the Premier League beckon in January.
However, Elia insists that he will continue to concentrate on playing football for McLaren’s side, but concedes that he has “ambitions” like any other player.
“I allow my agent to handle all these things and I concentrate on football,” he told Sportweek.
“I will give 100% for FC Twente for as long as I play for them.
“Of course I have ambitions, like every other player, but while there is nothing concrete I cannot say anything about it.”
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has revealed that Brazilian International Elano’s comments about being unhappy at being left on the bench recently have been dealt with internally, with the former Blackburn Rovers boss reminding the playmaker that he has actually had a lot of playing time at the Eastlands Stadium this season.
27-year-old Elano had voiced his discontent to the media about being left on the bench for the UEFA Cup clash with Eredivisie side FC Twente and then again for the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the Eastlands on Sunday.
Elano felt the need to make his opinion heard through the press, despite starting 8 out of City’s 12 Premiership games this campaign. Which has not endeared the former Shakhtar Donetsk player to Hughes, who insists Elano went about it in the wrong way.
“I had to remind Elano he actually has played quite often this year,” said Hughes.
“It was an internal matter and has been dealt with, so we draw a line over it and we move on.
“The mistake Elano made is that he went the wrong way about it. I always say my door is open, you can knock on my door and we'll discuss it. He just took and chose the wrong option.”
Former England International and Tottenham Hotspur player Les Ferdinand, who has joined Spurs as part of new manager Harry Redknapp’s coaching staff has questioned the management style of previous boss Juande Ramos, with the former striker claiming that the Spaniard’s poor communication skills failed to install confidence in the players at White Hart Lane.
While, Ferdinand has questioned the methods of Ramos he is backing new chief Redknapp make Tottenham ‘entertainers’ again and has revealed how the mood has changed at the North London club since the former Portsmouth manager took over.
Tottenham are unbeaten under Redknapp, winning 5 out of 6 games in all competitions and scoring 18 goals in the process, with Ferdinand attributing this change of fortune for Spurs solely to Redknapp.
“At times, Spurs have been the great entertainers of The Premier League over the last few seasons and, if the last three weeks are any guide, there won’t be many dull moments this year,” he told The Daily Mirror.
“With Harry in charge, this place is going to be fun.
“I walked into the training ground today and the mood was so upbeat. Everyone had a spring in their step.
“Less than a month ago, there was doom and gloom around the place. I saw David Bentley filling in at right back and Luka Modric stuck out on the left side of midfield.
“I won’t make any disparaging remarks about the previous manager and Juande Ramos is no mug if he can win the UEFA Cup.
“But if you can’t communicate with your players and you are struggling to get your message across, that is going to transmit itself to the pitch.
“And if you are playing for a manager who chops and changes every week, looking like a coach who is trying to find his best formation and his best team, you’re going to start doubting him.
“It has taken only one man to give the whole club a lift and, all of a sudden, there’s a feel-good vibe that only winning brings to a club.”
41-year-old Ferdinand played for Spurs between 1997-2003 and scored 33 league goals in 188 league matches for Tottenham during his six-years at White Hart Lane.
Premier League debutantes Hull City are the favourites ahead of Blackburn Rovers and Everton to sign Dutch Under-21 International Eljero Elia of FC Twente after his agent Sjaron Vink revealed there had been interest from the Premiership and singled out the Yorkshire side for their progression in recent years.
The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched 21-year-old Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Man City in the UEFA Cup last Thursday at the Eastlands Stadium, with Hull manager Phil Brown understood to have been there in person to run the rule over Elia.
However, Vink has conceded that there has been no official contact from any Premier League club including the Tigers.
“I know that there has been some interest in Eljero but we have not heard anything from Hull City,” Vink told setantasports.com.
“It is a dream of every Dutch player to move to England but whether that is now or in the future, I cannot say.
“In Holland we have of course heard about Hull, and the way they have progressed through the leagues very quickly.”
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership.
McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should the Premier League beckon in January, with the KC Stadium the likely destination.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Darren Bent has played down a recall to Fabio Capello’s England team, with the forward insisting that if he continues to play well for Spurs then the chance to add to his three England caps will follow.
24-year-old Bent has been in fine goal-scoring form for Tottenham this season, with the former Charlton Athletic forward already finding the net 11 times so far this campaign in all competitions.
Bent’s haul of 11 goals includes his first hat-trick for Tottenham in the UEFA Cup against Dinamo Zagreb last Thursday, which the £16.5million signing from the Addicks followed up with a brace against Manchester City at the Eastlands Stadium on Sunday in the Premier League.
However, after a tricky start to his career at the North London club, Bent is keeping his feet firmly on the ground throughout this rich vein of form, with the striker, who finally seems to have rediscovered the touch that prompted Spurs to pay so much to bring him to White Hart Lane aware that you cannot please everyone all the time.
“I am doing as well as I can do and your not always going to be able to please everyone,” Bent told Sky Sports News.
“There are always going to be people who have their doubts and critics, as long as I know I can do what I can do and giving 110 per cent every game then that is all anyone can ask of me.
“I always said in my career that if I get an England call-up, it would be a bonus to me - I am not just going to set my sights on just England, because it doesn't work like that - the only way I will play for England is playing well for Tottenham, as long as I keep playing well for Tottenham then England will come.”
Premier League debutantes Hull City along with Blackburn Rovers, Everton and Manchester City are set for a January race for the signature of Dutch Under-21 International Eljero Elia at Eredivisie side FC Twente, according to skysports.com.
The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched 21-year-old Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Man City in the UEFA Cup last Thursday at the Eastlands Stadium.
Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in the Premiership.
McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 6 goals in 43 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should the Premier League beckon in January.
Tottenham Hotspur’s teenage starlet John Bostock feels that with new manager Harry Redknapp in charge at White Hart Lane he has a real chance of fighting for a first-team place at the North London club.
16-year-old Bostock arrived at Tottenham in the summer from Championship side Crystal Palace for an initial £700,000 fee set by a tribunal, but did not feature for Spurs at all under previous boss Juande Ramos.
However, Redknapp surprised Bostock by bringing the England Under-17 International into the fold of the senior squad on Monday and then by giving the youngster a place on the bench against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup on Thursday.
Bostock then capped off a whirlwind week by becoming the youngest ever player to play a competitive match for Spurs when Redknapp brought Bostock on as a late substitute in the 4-0 rout of Zagreb. Bostock now intends to continue working hard to stay in and around the first-team squad at White Hart Lane, but did reveal that he thought Redknapp liked him.
“I was only introduced to Harry on Monday but it seems like he has taken a liking to me. I am really looking forward to playing under him,” Bostock told setantasports.com.
“I am really hopeful for the future now. I have just got to keep working and keep training hard and hopefully I can stay in and around the squad.
“I only started training with the first team on Monday,” he added. “So it was an absolutely amazing feeling to get on the pitch and play for a humongous club like Tottenham Hotspur.
“The fans were amazing when I came on, and that really lifts your confidence as a player - to have them on your side really helps a lot.”
The young starlet also revealed that it was not a surprise to him that Ramos was shown the door at Tottenham, with Bostock taking the philosophical approach that in football things are always changing.
“Football is always changing and you have to adapt to what happens,” he added.
New Tottenham Hotspur manger Harry Redknapp has revealed that he is to build the Spurs team around Croatian International Luka Modric (below) ahead of the crunch UEFA Cup clash against the former playmakers club Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
The former Portsmouth boss also hailed the quality of Croatian players, having worked closely with Niko Kranjcar at Fratton Park and bringing former International and now Croatian coach Slaven Bilic along with Igor Stimac to the Premier League, while in charge of West Ham United.
Redknapp is delighted to have Croatian’s Modric and defender Vedran Corluka, also a former Zagreb player in his squad at White Hart Lane. However, Corluka will miss the clash against his former club, as he is cup-tied. Modric is set for a key role against the side he left in the summer, but with Roman Pavlyuchenko also cup-tied Redknapp has revealed that there will be changes for the European game.
“I saw Nico [Kranjcar of Portsmouth] last week," he told Sportskenovosti.
“He's back playing which is good as he's now over his injury.
“He's a great boy, a really good person and a fantastic footballer. Modric is also a fantastic footballer and I have to build a team around him to play with him.
“We have to get him the ball as he's an amazing player. He's a special footballer and has got amazing ability like a lot of Croatian players.
“They have produced so many great players over the years. I love Croatians, every boy from Croatia I have had has just been special. I can honestly say that.
“Slaven [Bilic] was fantastic, Igor [Stimac] too at West Ham was fantastic player. Robert Prosinecki was a genius.
“We have to win at home and make sure we win. If we win this game, one more win will get us through then we can think about the league again.
“It's important we keep picking up good results and keep winning for the confidence.
“We don't want to get beaten on Thursday. I'll change the team and give players a chance who haven't played.”
Spurs are due to face Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, with Redknapp set to include youngsters John Bostock (left), Yaser Kasim, Adam Smith, Ryan Mason and and John Obika in the Tottenham squad to face the Dutch side.
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