Levy Speaks Out

Courtesy of Official Site-

There has been substantial speculation in respect of the futures of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, including press comment from both Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez. In response our Chairman, Daniel Levy has made the following statement:

"Today's public comments by Manchester United's manager, announcing that he has made an offer for Dimitar and is confident that the deal will go through with time working in their favour, is a blatant example of sheer arrogance and interference with one of our players. It is also probably one of the worst offences by any manager in the Premier League to date and is unbelievably hypocritical given his recent comments in respect of Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid.

"This comes after a series of events, dating back to last summer, which have shown Manchester United to be in breach of Premier League (PL) rules. As a result, we have today made an official complaint to the PL about the conduct of Manchester United. Benitez made similar comments in respect of Robbie recently and we made an official complaint to the PL about the conduct of Liverpool earlier this week.

"The behaviour of both clubs has been disgraceful. We told both clubs very early on that we had no interest in selling Robbie or Dimitar, respectively, and that they should refrain from pursuing the player. Both clubs arrogantly chose to ignore this request and we now have evidence that both clubs have systematically been working to prise the players away from us, outside of PL rules of conduct.

"Our subsequent position has been severely compromised by both clubs making their intentions widely known and indeed making contact with the players and their agents, without the Club's permission.

"I have absolutely no wish to sell either player and to date we have not accepted any offer for either. However, when a player's head is turned and their commitment is absent, particularly when they occupy key positions such as that of striker, they become a negative influence in a team dressing room in which they were once a positive addition and influence. This is the situation we now have on our hands, with both Dimitar and Robbie having made it clear that they wish to leave for Manchester Utd and Liverpool respectively.

"Irrespective of the outcome and futures of Robbie and Dimitar, we are continuing to seek to bring in quality, talented players for the future, who want to play in a Spurs shirt."

Linked here.

Tranfer: Forecast to Saints

Courtesy of Official Site-

We have reached agreement for the transfer of Tommy Forecast to Southampton.

A product of our Academy system, goalkeeper Tommy has been a regular in our reserve squad for the past three seasons and took his place on the First Team bench on six occasions last term.

We wish him every success for the future.

Linked here.

Pre-Season Begins

Courtesy of Official Site-

Our first team squad returned for their first day of pre-season training on Thursday.

Coach Marcos Alvarez put the lads through their paces at Spurs Lodge under the watchful eye of Head Coach Juande Ramos and our new goalkeeping coach, Hans Leitert.

Running and stretching exercises were the order of the day with the hard work of the summer all to come!

Linked here.

Simon Dawkins loan to Leyton Orient

Courtesy of Official Site-

Simon Dawkins has joined League One side Leyton Orient on loan until January.

The striker, a Reserve Team regular, made fourteen appearances for Clive Allen's side last season in a welcome return to action after injury curtailed his involvement in the previous campaign to five outings.

A product of our Academy, the 20-year-old was named as a substitute for the UEFA Cup away leg against Anorthosis Famagusta in October.

Linked here.

Joe Martin to Blackpool

Courtesy of Official Site-

We have reached agreement with Blackpool for the permanent transfer of Joe Martin.

Joe joined our Academy in 2005-06 and made 21 appearances for our reserves between 2005-08. He joined the Seasiders on loan at the end of last season and made his league debut against Watford in the Championship on May 4, 2008.

The player will now discuss personal terms with Blackpool.

Linked here.

Huddlestone signs new contract

Courtesy of Official Site-

The Club is delighted to announce that Tom Huddlestone has signed a new five-year contract, committing his future to the Club until 2013.

The midfielder, called up to the full England squad for the end-of-season internationals against the USA and Trinidad and Tobago, made 43 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring four goals.

Tom also played a big part in our League Cup success at Wembley - coming on as substitute and forcing Wayne Bridge into the handball for the penalty that brought us back into the game.

Now 21, Tom has represented his country from Under-15 level through to Under-21s and is one of the most experienced players in the current U21 squad - earning his 26th cap and scoring against Wales in May, 2008.

Linked here.

Ranieri joins Academy

Courtesy of Official Site-

We are delighted to announce that agreement has been reached with Perugia for the signing of Italian youth international Mirko Ranieri.

The 16-year-old goalkeeper has represented Italy at Under-16 level and will now join up with our Academy group of players, coached by Alex Inglethorpe.

"Mirko is 6ft 2" and an excellent shot stopper," said Sporting Director Damien Comolli. "His distribution and decision making is improving all the time.

"He is a highly-intelligent individual and another very good young goalkeeper we have attracted to the Club."

Linked here.