“A source at the JJB Stadium has, however, confirmed to Sportsmail that Athletic would rebuff any approach for their talisman.

The source added that Wigan’s Barclays Premier League survival would hinge on Heskey remaining part of Steve Bruce’s squad and that Wigan simply could not afford to lose their man.”

Though he has faced harsh criticism and doubts about his class during his career, Heskey is a useful striker, especially in the role of target man. Though £10 million is a good chunk of change for a man entering his thirties, Bruce is smart not to let him go, because, behind Heskey, they are very thin up front. While he is an intriguing talent (according to the ridiculous FIFA rankings) Amr “The Best Striker in the World” Zaky is still unproven in the Premiership and is likely to really benefit by playing alongside a proven veteran.

For Spurs, it is impossible to tell how serious they ever were about signing Heskey. In this tabloid-fueled transfer market, there have been more erroneous links made to Ramos’ men than pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo dressed up like Wham! members. Heskey never would have been a satisfactory replacement for either Berbatov and Keane, especially because he has never been a prolific goal scorer, which Spurs need more than anything.

I still expect Ramos to make at least one more signing, but I highly doubt it to be of the Huntelaar/ Villa class of striker. It seems more likely that they will have to make due with a guy like Milito, Falcao, or Pavlyuchenko.

If I had to bet on it, I would say they will sign Pavlyuchenko. He is lethal in front of goal, as well being a true target man. It also seems that he could be had for the right price and seems interested in moving to England, especially if they sign his compatriot Andrei Arshavin.

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A central midfielder at right-back, a fit right-back on the bench. The second (third?) choice left-back on the pitch, the fully-fit first choice (and in my view one of the best in the league) left-back on the bench. Back-up and still very unsure centre-half on the pitch, first choice, club captain, fully fit for the first time in ages, club legend and one of the best in the country…..on the bench.

So, a makeshift back four. Better protect them I guess. Oh look, it’s a front six. Totally exposed then. Compounded even further by having the England right winger on the left and a player who has done a sum total of f*** all for 18 months on the right.

Has nothing been learnt from last season? Seems not. All pre-season it has been clear that Ramos would be playing a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 formation with Bent up front by himself. So in the first game, momentum required, he plays 4-4-2 with a totally unbalanced midfied and a makeshift defence.

I’m really confused, I just don’t get it. Surely the obvious team to play yesterday was Gomes; Bale, Woodgate, King, Gunter; Jenas, Huddlestone; Dos Santos, Modric, Bentley; Bent? Or even Zokora in for Hudd.

Spurs played okay, I thought the Boro goals were a tad lucky in their execution, but the stats don’t lie. For a team that scored so many in pre-season, three shots on target is just not good enough. Things only happened when Bale and Berbatov came on and Modric was nowhere to be seen.

Ramos has to re-assure Spurs fans in the next game that this isn’t another period of weird team selections and out of position players a la Jol, because last time this happened it all went downhill very fast.

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I think Ramos and Levy already know the answer to this. From the day Ramos joined he would have known that Berba was going to do one and he would have prepared for this. According to reports earlier in the season Juande even called the player into his office and told him to jog on, his attitude was not what he wanted in his team no matter how good he is.

Keane, however, was not expected to leave and it is this that has thrown a spanner into the works, although the midfield acquisitions would suggest that Keane’s role was to be very different this season and his loss seems to be already covered.

So who is it that Ramos has told Levy he wants to replace Berbatov? I think Arshavin is well wide of the mark, he may be wanted, but not in this sense. Bent is very much a Ramos player and would have been earmarked straight away, but a proper striker, rather than a Keane-esque player like Arshavin, is needed.

Eto’o is staying at Barca after they realised he is a bit good, but it is David Villa remains a possibility and it is Villa I believe a serious bid will be made for within the week.

What do you lot think?

Not content with taking the foot off the pedal after their victorious final, the Tottenham squad turned off the engine and sent granny out to push the car by the middle of May. Spurs were more likely to begin building a new stadium than to rise a couple of places in the league – especially with next season’s UEFA Cup passport sat secure in the glove compartment.

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But those first 15 games should prove inspirational to our summer friend, the Lilywhite optimist. On the back of a horrendous display at St James’ Park, and subsequent defeat to a little-known Getafe outfit, Ramos inspired confidence in his downtrodden troops to achieve 28 points before reaching Wembley.

During this initial Premier League assault, Ramos took clinical steps to develop his side in the January transfer window, immediately improving a bewildered defence. Summer signings have stregthened the midfield, supporting Berbatov with team-mates who are star names in themselves. Even Berbatov’s expected departure, without replacement, would still leave space for a rejuvenated Bent, supported by Dos Santos filling Keane’s role. This partnership would create room for Jenas in midfield alongside Lennon, Bentley and Modric.

The average number of points for a fourth-placed team since the inception of the Premier League is 66. Ramos took over a stuttering outfit and gained twenty-eight points in fifteen matches – averaged over a season, that would be a points total of 71.

And if Spurs have in any way improved over the summer, and if more signings are to come, could the operatic choir of the Champions League anthem finally be heard in N17?

Premiership Latest reports:

Premier League debutantes Hull City have agreed a fee for Tottenham Hotspur Defender Anthony Gardner, as the exodus out of White Hart Lane continues under Spurs boss Juande Ramos.

Tigers manager Phil Brown has been tracking Gardner all summer, with it believed that a fee of £2.5million has been agreed with Tottenham to bring the 27-year-old to the KC Stadium.

At first, many sources reported that Gardner would leave on a one-year loan deal, but it seems that Ramos, Levy and company wanted to broker a permanent switch to bolster their transfer funds.

In this summer, marked by ridiculous rumours and even more ridiculous transfer fees, this seems to be an intelligent, fair deal for both sides.

For a club like Tottenham whose (alleged) goal is to break into the top four, Gardner simply does not have the class. For Hull City, whose goal is to stay out of the bottom three, Garnder will be a significant contributor to their back line. While he is not fleet of foot, Gardner does have Premier League experience, which will be at a premium at Hull.

Also, Hull City fans should be excited about this signing, because it shows that they are willing to spend some money to try to stay up next year. If they can build on this signing, it will certainly bolster their chances of not becoming the next Derby County.

The deal also makes sense from Tottenham’s perspective. If Gardner were to stay, he would not have gotten on the field. Though the transfer price was paltry, it helps boost their transfer funds to bring in names like Capel, Pavlyuchenko, and that English guy who gets compared (moronically) to David Beckham. With this transfer and the Sunderland four, Spurs have raised over £25 million without selling any members of the core (besides Steed). If you throw Robbo for £4 mil, then you’ve made a nice chunk of change without selling any of your true match-winners.

I like this deal from both sides. What do Tigers and Spurs fans think? Is Gardner the answer? Who are Spurs going to spend this money on?

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Seville have turned down an offer of £12.5 million from Tottenham Hotspur for Diego Capel, the left winger, in a deal that would have involved the Spanish club withdrawing two compensation claims. Seville claim that they are owed £3 million in compensation from Tottenham for Juande Ramos, who left for White Hart Lane in October, and they have taken action against their former head coach for breach of contract. (The Times)

So will Ramos take no for an answer?

When Juande Ramos came in last season, he acknowledged it straight away, bringing in Jonathan Woodgate and Alan Hutton to shore up the defence. Now the BBC report that Tottenham have agreed terms with Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who was impressive for PSV last season, shipping just 24 goals – the amount that Spurs had conceded by October.

Can the home fans at White Hart Lane actually expect to see a stubborn defence in action next season? Ramos still needs to bring in a decent defensive midfielder to protect the back four, although the signs are there that Spurs might not need to score four goals to sometimes win a match, especially if they’re watertight at the back. Goodbye 4-4 draws and hello to 1-0 wins?!

It appears that Aston Villa are done with trying to sign Scott Carson from Liverpool without paying silly money, and are instead prepared to take a punt on Paul Robinson, the Tottenham keeper who has somehow gone from hero to zero in a ridiculously short space of time. Will this throw a spanner in the works as far as Rafael Benitez’s spending plans are concerned?

Tottenham are demanding £5million for Robinson who is keen to leave White Hart Lane after falling out with manager Junade Ramos after losing his place to Radek Cerny midway through last season.

There’s surely little doubt that Robbo needs a fresh start and it appears the Villans are on hand to provide it. They will get him for £10 million less than Carson is reported to cost and perhaps have someone just as good between the sticks next term. Will Liverpool find another suitor for Carson, or will they have the most expensive reserve goalkeeper in the Premier League next term instead?

However, according to Sky Sports, it appears that Tottenham are in the hunt for a shiny new keeper by the name of Heurelho Gomes. Brazil is not renowned for churning out brilliant goalkeepers (costing the national team on several major occasions), although the PSV cat is clearly unhappy with his current club and Spurs are seemingly in pole position.

Managing director Jan Reker confirmed that the Premier League side had been in touch in regards to Gomes, but insists that a deal is yet to be struck.

“Tottenham have informed us of their interest,” he said in the Eindhovens Dagblad newspaper.

It’s clear that Robinson won’t stick around as number two at Tottenham, reports coming from White Hart Lane suggest that the player refused to train when he was dropped last season! What’s the betting that Aston Villa finally give up on Scott Carson, especially with Liverpool’s inflated price tag, and instead opt to take a punt on Robbo?

The Sun report that, barring a medical or miracle, Mario Santana will be a Tottenham player imminently. Not a great deal is known about Fiorentina’s Argentine midfielder, other than he played a prominent role for the Italian club last season, helping them to finish in the Champions League places.

Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino said: “We’ve had an offer from Tottenham who have arranged to pay 5m.

“It is a figure that satisfies us because Santana does not feature in our plans for the 2008-09 season.

“I expect Santana to join Spurs within the next few days as he has been offered a three or four-year contract in London.”

Have they got the 26-year-old on the cheap? These days, 4 million quid isn’t a lot of money to spend in the transfer market (the 5m above is in euros). However, you do get the impression that Santana will be a squad player at White Hart Lane rather than a first-team regular like Luka Modric.