Downing To Force Spurs Move Through?

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Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing is ready to force a move through to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur by handing in a formal transfer request on Monday morning, according to reports.

24-year-old Downing is the main target for Spurs boss Harry Redknapp in the transfer window, with it understood that the English International is ready to quit the Riverside Stadium for White Hart Lane after the interest shown in him by the North London club.

Boro manager Gareth Southgate has repeatedly claimed that Downing will not be sold in January, with Tottenham believed to have already tested the water with a bid of £6million for the winger. Chief executive Keith Lamb dismissed this offer and called it derisory.

However, should Downing force Southgate’s hand by demanding a move it is likely that the Middlesbrough board will allow the winger to leave the North East club after granting Yakubu a move to Everton last season, when he wanted to leave the Riverside. With Boro holding out for somewhere nearer their £15million valuation of their home grown talent Downing.

Whether Redknapp is ready to match the valuation of Middlesbrough remains to be seen, with the Tottenham chief insisting that he will not pay over the odds for any player this month as he puts his own mark on the Spurs squad.

Downing however, is under contract at Middlesbrough until 2013, having signed a new five-year deal last February, which means Spurs, will have to up the ante if Redknapp truly does want to bring Downing to Tottenham.

Everton Look To Pancrate To Ease Striker Crisis

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Everton manager David Moyes has been linked with a move for Paris St Germain striker Fabrice Pancrate in the January transfer window, with the Toffees boss desperately in need of some more firepower upfront at Goodison Park due to injuries.

The Merseyside club face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday at Goodison, but Moyes only has one fit striker in Victor Anichebe available, with Yakubu and James Vaughan both out with long-term injuries and summer signing Louis Saha suffering from persistent hamstring problems.



28-year-old Pancrate had been a summer target for Premiership debutantes Hull City and could leave PSG on loan in January or for a modest fee of around £1million due to his present deal at the Parc des Princes running out at the end of the season.

Pancrate has been at PSG since joining from Ligue 1 rivals Le Mans in 2004 and has made 68 league appearances for the French side. However, Pancrate is not what you would call a natural goalscorer and has only scored 9 goals in the French top-flight for PSG since he left Le Mans, with the striker spending a short loan spell at La Liga side Real Betis in 2007.

Moyes is also reportedly interested in Manchester City summer signing Jo, who has struggled to make an impact at the Eastlands Stadium since his move from CSKA Moscow. However, it is understood that while City manager Mark Hughes may let the Brazilian International go out on loan. Hughes would be reluctant to loan Jo to another Premier League club.

Everton Target Larsson Open To Premier League Return

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Swedish International striker Henrik Larsson has revealed that he would be open to a return to the Premier League, with Everton linked to the former Manchester United and Barcelona player.

Larsson is currently a free agent after his deal with Swedish club Helsinborg ended, but despite reports suggesting the 37-year-old would retire from football, Larsson is tempted to have another crack at the Premiership.

Toffees boss David Moyes is desperate to bring a striker into Goodison Park in January, with Yakubu and James Vaughan out with long-term injuries for the Merseyside club and is understood to have made veteran Larsson a main winter transfer target.

Larsson has claimed that he is considering his options, but might favour a similar short-term deal at Everton to the one that took him to United on loan in 2007.

“I am a free agent and have not yet decided what to do next,” Larsson told the Daily Star.

The former Celtic player also revealed that he will not sign a new deal with Helsingborg unless there is a change in the way the club is run.

“I like Helsingborgs, but I want to see a change of attitude and in the way the club is run before I sign again,” he added.

“I have not completely closed my mind to the idea of going abroad again, so we will see what happens.”

Tottenham Plan £25million Ligue 1 Double Swoop?

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has already been linked with a string of strikers in the January transfer window since taken over from Juande Ramos at White Hart Lane last Sunday, with Spurs now being linked with Ligue 1 pair, Fernando Cavenaghi at Bordeaux and Jimmy Briand, who plays for Rennes, according to Mercato 365.

Redknapp is almost certain to add more firepower to the Tottenham front line in January, with summer signing Roman Pavlyuchenko and England International Darren Bent the only two experienced forwards at the North London club.

Although Spurs have been linked with Everton’s Yakubu and Wigan Athletic’s Egyptian sensation Amr Zaki along with his Latics strike-partner Emile Heskey at home in the Premier League, Tottenham are now believed to be tracking Cavenaghi and Briand in the French top-flight.

Cavenaghi is a former team-mate of Pavlyuchenko, having played with the Russian International at Spartak Moscow and is valued by the French side at around £15million, with the 25-year-old Argentine International scoring 23 goals in 44 league matches for Bordeaux and is exactly the type of out-and-out goal-scorer that Redknapp is looking for at White Hart Lane.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Briand has drawn comparisons in his style of play to former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, with the Frenchman reportedly a target for Redknapp when he was in charge of Portsmouth. The Gunners were also said to be interested in Briand after his breakthrough season for Rennes in 2006-2007. However, despite the comparisons with Barcelona’s Henry, Briand is less prolific and plays as a second striker, where he can create for others as well as score.

Briand would cost Tottenham in the region of £10million, with the striker unsettled at the Route de Lorient after a summer tug-of-war with Ligue 1 rivals Paris St Germain, which resulted in Briand staying with Rennes, despite wanting to leave.