Latest Transfer Update at 07-05-2012

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Harry Redknapp: Will be glad when next week is over

REDKNAPP CALLS ON SPURS TO BE BOLD

Harry Redknapp has urged Tottenham to be "bold" in the transfer market this summer if they are to ensure they finish in the Barclays Premier League top four.
Spurs looked certain to qualify for next season's Champions League until February but are now in a shootout with Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea for third and fourth place going into the final week of the campaign.
Redknapp told BBC Radio Five Live: "We're a good side. If we're bold in the summer, we can build a team again that can be right there again next year.
"The league is changing and a top-four position is very difficult to achieve."
Tottenham are a point behind third-placed Arsenal going into Sunday's final game of the season against Fulham.
Only a top-three finish will guarantee Champions League football, with fourth coming into play providing Chelsea do not win this month's final against Bayern Munich.


It is a nailbiting end to what has been a rollercoaster season for Spurs and Redknapp, who was cleared of tax evasion in February and made favourite for the England job before it went last week to Roy Hodgson.
He said: "I'll be glad when next week is over. It's been a long old season.
"I just want to get in the Champions League and have a break and get away for a few days.
"It has been a hard year for me personally. What I went through with the court case was the most difficult thing I've ever faced in my life.
"It definitely takes a strain on you. I do tend to get on with things but there's no doubt it has an effect."
Redknapp reiterated he bore no grudges over the Football Association's decision to overlook him for the England job.


"It was no hassle to me at all," he said.
"It never really bothered me. When I heard that Roy had got the job on Sunday night, I went out.
"I didn't go out feeling, 'Oh my God'. I woke up the next morning and I was quite relieved in a way that I didn't have a decision to make."

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Gonzalo Higuain: Linked with a move away from Madrid

HIGUAIN STAYING AT MADRID - MOURINHO

Jose Mourinho insists Gonzalo Higuain is not for sale at any price and will still be a Real Madrid player next season.
Italian champions Juventus, Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain had all been linked with the striker, along with Mourinho's former club, Chelsea.


However, Mourinho has asserted Higuain's immediate future lies at the Bernabeu and told ES: "Higuain is staying here.
"He will stay at Madrid because I don't want him to go. He has an excellent contract here that runs for many more years.
"He has not come for a year and been paid little - he is on the same level as the others.


"Even if clubs offer 40, 50 or 60 million Euros, Real Madrid will not sell him. My two strikers for next season will be [Karim] Benzema and Higuain."

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Kaka: Looking to fulfil his contract at Real

KAKA KEEN TO REMAIN AT REAL

Brazil forward Kaka has reiterated his desire to stay at Real Madrid and become a key player for the Primera Division champions.
Kaka has not played a full part in this season's triumphant campaign and admits he has not yet spoken to manager Jose Mourinho about future plans.

He told Globo TV: "My contract still has three years to run and I will keep doing my job.
"Mourinho has been helping me and has given me chances. I do not want to leave Real Madrid."

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Roman Weidenfeller: No plans to quit

WEIDENFELLER: NO RETIREMENT THOUGHTS

Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller insists he has no intention of hanging up his gloves when his current contract with the club expires in 2014.
The 31-year-old, who has one of the best records of all German goalkeepers over the past two years, says he cannot imagine calling it a day or joining another club when he is 33.


"I feel far too fit and far too strong for that," he told Kicker magazine.
"Playing football has never felt so easy as it has from the moment I joined Dortmund."
Weidenfeller kept 14 clean sheets last season and 15 this campaign and has conceded just 43 goals over the past two years.

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Peter Withe: It would be a dream to lead them

PETER WITHE WANTS VILLA JOB

Aston Villa legend Peter Withe has admitted he wants to manage the club on the very day that fans plan to protest against current boss Alex McLeish.
Withe will always be remembered as the player who 30 years ago scored the winning goal for Villa in their European Cup final triumph over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam.
And now, Withe, who had a spell as manager of Thailand, is keen to take charge at Villa, who are embroiled in a relegation battle ahead of Sunday's home clash with Tottenham.


Withe told the Birmingham Sunday Mercury: "I don't want to talk about what is currently happening at the club, but I want to manage Aston Villa and there is no point in my disguising that fact.
"I had a fantastic nine or 10 years at that great club and it would be a dream for me to lead them, an absolute dream.
"If the opportunity to manage Villa came up, I would grab it with both hands and I know I would be able to put that club back where it belongs."
Withe, who currently lives in Australia, added: "My ambition has always been to manage at top level and I know I have the credentials to do a fantastic job.
"I just need to be given the chance. I have the experience of coaching at international level and just need the chance to prove myself back in England."
Some sections of fans intend to make their anti-McLeish feelings known before Sunday's game in protests outside of the ground.