Spurs to start spending

Paul Robinson: Spurs have again been linked with the Leeds keeper

With £15million burning a hole in his pocket, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will today start drawing up a shopping list of new players to buy either this month or next summer.

The club yesterday received the green light from shareholders for their controversial share scheme and are now one of the few Premiership teams with serious spending power.

Levy wants one or two "quality" signings before the end of January, with more arrivals, including a new manager, expected at the end of the season.

He said: "We are looking at one or two individuals. It is very difficult to do transfers in January but we are still working on it.

"We are talking about £15m in relation to transfer fees so it is not that we have not got the ability to do deals, but we need to have a willing seller. As Chelsea have found out with Scott Parker, Charlton are not willing sellers so they can't do the deal.

"One of the players we did have detailed discussions with was Edgar Davids, but unfortunately because of his arrangements with Nike he wasn't able to come to London and instead went to Barcelona.

"Sometimes things don't happen, but we've still got 10 days left so we will see."

Having missed out on Juventus star Davids, Sheffield United's Michael Brown remains the only new signing since the window opened on 1 January.

With funds now in place, acting manager David Pleat may step up interest in Nottingham Forest's Andy Reid or turn his attention to Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Spurs confirmed today they had made a £3m move for Robinson but denied any interest in his team-mate, Eirik Bakke.

Levy would not confirm that Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni had been lined up to replace Pleat next summer, but did reveal that the club's manager elect - whoever he might be - would have an influence on new acquisitions.

Levy said: "He is aware of the targets we are looking at. There have been discussions.

"We know who we want, we've had consultations with him and he's aware of some of the targets we are talking about.

"There is no guarantee that he will come in the summer but we are still hopeful. We intend to buy quality so whoever ends up managing the team will be happy with who we buy."

Not so happy are the rebel shareholders who tried to torpedo the scheme which, they believe, is a means for Levy's company Enic to buy the club "on the cheap".

Enic countered by claiming the unconventional scheme is in Spurs' best interests at a time when it is difficult for clubs to raise finance from City banks.

Despite a determined campaign, the rebels - who included former director Howard Shore, Birmingham director David Sullivan and investment banker Michael Sherwood - narrowly failed to win enough shareholder support to defeat Levy at yesterday's EGM.

Enic now effectively control more than 50 per cent of Spurs, but suspicions remain about their long-term objectives. It has been suggested the company may try to sell the club or take it private - both of which have been denied.

So the funding battle is now over, but Levy added: "I am disappointed the whole matter became so public. I think they should have dealt with it behind closed doors and sat down with us to discuss the issues. In the end, that would have been in the best interests of Tottenham.

"Howard Shore is an ex-director and you will have to ask him why he's been so vocal. There was the Birmingham City major shareholder David Sullivan and the reason for his opposition is pretty obvious.

"And as far as Mike Sherwood and his colleagues are concerned, they have made it very clear they would like a major shareholding in the club.

"However, as a consequence of not many people taking up the fundraising issue, our shareholding has gone up so it will now be more difficult for them to do so."

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