Not-Spurs: Tottenham summer clear-out could see Adebayor, Dempsey, Parker and more sold
And interest in strikers Benteke, Villa, Hulk and Lisandro Lopez could condemn Defoe to the subs' bench even if HE stays
Laurence Griffiths
Tottenham are set for a ruthless clear-out following their failure to reach the Champions League.
The
north Londoners are clearing the decks for an influx of bigger names to
surround Gareth Bale as they bid to break back into the top four.As we revealed last week, Bale is set to sign a new deal to stay at White Hart Lane despite the club’s failure to reach the Champions League.
Spurs midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson has admitted the club would need need to sign two players to cover Bale’s position alone if the four-time Player of the Year IS sold.
Sigurdsson said: “I don’t think there would be one player that could replace him because he’s been that good. It’s always very important when you keep good players and he is a fantastic player.”
Big-earning Emmanuel Adebayor is already set to be offloaded by Spurs after just five League goals this season.
The club are also ready to listen to offers for former Fulham striker Clint Dempsey after just one season at White Hart Lane.
The American has scored only seven league goals after moving to across London from Fulham last summer.
Julian Finney
Jermain Defoe may have hit 11 goals in the league this
season, but may have to steel himself for a substitute’s role next term
with Andre Villas-Boas looking to revamp his forward line this summer.Aston Villa’s saviour Christian Benteke and David Villa of Barcelona and Spain remain two of Tottenham’s known targets.
Other names in the frame include Zenit St Petersburg hitman Hulk, who scored 36 goals in 53 games under Villas-Boas at Porto two seasons ago, and Lyon's Lisandro Lopez.
The Argentinian has netted 12 times in 30 appearances in the 2012-13 season and could be available as he will be out of contract at the end of next season.
They can also offer Benteke, who scored 19 League goals this season, the chance to shine in Europe - albeit the Europa League, rather than the Champions League - in a World Cup year.
Other departures from White Hart Lane are set to include injury-prone, 35-year-old defender William Gallas, who will leave on a free.
In midfield, Tom Huddlestone is poised to quit in search of more regular first-team football, while Scott Parker could be available at the right price.
QPR owner Tony Fernandes revealed last month that he had tried to prise the £70,000-a-week former Footballer of the Year away from Spurs in January without success.
Parker, 32, was linked with the Rs again last week following their relegation to the Championship and could be up for grabs, with Sandro - Villas-Boas’ first choice in midfield - fit again after his January knee injury.
Kent Gavin/DailyMirror
Buyers will also be sought for midfielder David Bentley, who
returns from a loan spell at Championship side Blackburn, left-back
Danny Rose who, despite a successful season at Sunderland on loan, is
not in AVB's first-team plans - and keeper Heurelho Gomes, who has been
farmed out to German club Hoffenheim.Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has expressed his desire to hang onto Rose, who has also been linked with Liverpool.
Sigurdsson had also been keen to move on and become a first-team regular at his former club Reading, had Spurs managed to find a replacement.
But Tottenham could hold onto the 23-year-old as they bid to beef up their squad.
Sigurdsson has insisted, meanwhile, that Tottenham's Europa League exertions did not have a negative impact.
Without him, Spurs - who finished out of the Champions League places by a point - could manage only a 2-2 home draw with the Toffees.
Sigurdsson said of the north Londoners' 12-match European adventure: “We tried to win that cup and everyone enjoyed playing in it.
“Up until Basel we were quite good and we thought it might happen. After the Lyon game, when we scored late on. We had a feeling it could be our year but that’s the way it is.
“[The margins] are very small. Obviously if we had won one game which we drew we would have been in the Champions League but that’s life. That’s what happens when you are at the top.
“The margins are small. You just need more consistency, we were very good and then lost a bit of form and that’s what killed us.”
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