White Hart Lane boss plans to raid Old Trafford for England man.

Football - Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur Barclays Premier League

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is planning a summer raid for troubled Rio Ferdinand, who has endured a torrid two months for club and country.

The Manchester United defender could even be left out of the team against Blackburn
tomorrow after being given the run-around by Fernando Torres in last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool.

And with Northern Irish defender Jonny Evans knocking on the door of the Old Trafford first team, Ferdinand’s long-term standing at United is in question for the first time since he joined them seven years ago.

It is understood that Spurs boss Redknapp is already monitoring the situation closely and will try to find a way to take Ferdinand to London next summer if he is given encouragement by his friend Ferguson.

Spurs, in the process of finding money to build a new stadium, would probably have to
finish in the Champions League places to have any chance of funding what would be a sensational transfer.

Ferdinand, 31 next week, has three-and-half years left on his United contract and earns in the region of £130,000-a-week.

Redknapp, who continues to be plagued by injuries to defenders Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate, has a close bond with Ferdinand since their days together at West Ham and privately feels his former player may be tempted by a new challenge and a move back to his native London.

Much will depend on how Ferdinand plays for the rest of the season and how Ferguson views his progress and his approach.

It is understood the United manager has been less than impressed this season with the player he bought from Leeds for £30million in 2002 and he has been known to jettison star names when he feels they have gone past their peak. (Daily Mail)

Not sure what to make of this. It seems a fairly unlikely potential move but then some of the constituent parts of the story are reasonable but the sum of all the parts seems far fetched. Rio Ferdinand is indeed experiencing something of a poor patch but it seems highly unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson would act in such a knee jerk way considering the years of good service the former West Ham and Leeds man has given the club, after all not more than 6-9 months ago he was being hailed as one of the best centre backs around and good players don’t turn bad overnight.

Tottenham could do with some more central defenders, preferably ones under 30 and not injury prone, and I am sure Harry would jump at the chance of signing the £18m rated England international. Rio is still very much first choice for club and country but clearly if his form continues to fall below par then who knows what might happen.

I predict that the 30 year old will find his feet again and these rumours will soon dissipate.