Juande Ramos is planning another high profile foray in the transfer market and if he pulls off this coup then a top four finish may not be a pipe dream!
Tottenham are launching an audacious bid to hijack Barcelona’s move for Russia star Andrei Arshavin and take the Zenit St Petersburg playmaker to White Hart Lane for £18million.
With Tottenham resigned to losing Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United and willing to sell Robbie Keane to Liverpool, coach Juande Ramos and director of football, Damien Comolli, are negotiating a series of deals to take top strikers to White Hart Lane.
But it is the attempted capture of 27-year-old Arshavin that would represent the biggest coup for Spurs.
Officials from the club are expected to fly out to St Petersburg this week hoping to exploit an impasse in negotiations between Barca and Zenit and persuade Arshavin that he can fulfil his ambition at Spurs.
Russia’s top player in Euro 2008, who was one of the revelations of the tournament, is desperate to move to Barca but the Catalan club have gone cold on the deal, leaving Zenit with no bidders.
Arshavin understandably wants to join a Champions League team but no bid from Chelsea has materialised, Arsenal and Manchester United have shown no interest and Liverpool cannot afford him.
Ramos hopes that the funds anticipated by the sales of Berbatov and Keane will allow Comolli to strike a deal with a £18m bid that would persuade Zenit to sell.
Comolli then has to convince the player that an £80,000-a-week wage at Spurs would fulfill his ambitions. (Mail on Sunday)
Andrei Arshavin is a name that many clubs appeared to be ready to splash the cash on, but since the Euro ended it appears that many sides have reconsidered bidding for the Russian star. Ramos has proved with the signings of Modric, Giovani and Gomes that he can attract top class names to the club and with the expected cash injection coming from the Berbatov sale the north London club have the funds to purchase the Zenit man. If JR manages to seal this deal then the clubs hopes for progression up the table will be given one hell of a boost. Do Tottenham supporters think that such a fantasy deal could become a reality?