Harry Redknapp has been watching his fair share of Gun-Slinger films this summer as he's modeled his transfer policy after the trigger happy, " Shoot first, ask questions later, "philosophy. With envious amounts of depth in his attacking options, his boys seem to lack gun-powder. Harry has deemed players like Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko dead weight at the club, and will look to offload them. Throwing Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe into that mix and you have four quality strikers that scored a total of 17 goals between them last season. With one or two bound to vacate White Hart Lane before the English season kicks off later this month, Harry's Spurs have been linked with everyone besides Jesus Christ himself.
Uncle Harry was chasing American-born Guiseppie Rossi with reckless abandon, but prying him away from Villarreal proved too much of a task. A clinical goal scorer who racked up 32 goals in all competitions, has confirmed that he is staying at the Spanish outfit, a must since the recent departure of Santi Carzola to Malaga.
Another target for Harry's six-shooter is Uruguayan talisman Diego Forlan. On the back of a strong finish in the World Cup in 2010, and a Copa America Championship, Forlan has been linked to Spurs since the beginning of the summer, as he looks desperate to leave current club Athletico Madrid. He was put up for sale at the price of 7 million Euro's by Athletico, a bargain for the still influential yet aging playmaker. If Harry really wanted him, he could get him, but an unsuccessful run with Manchester United from 2001-04, still looms over the strikers head. The key...I think so. Proven goal scorer, influential presence, and a decent price...go git'em Arry!
Harry has even resorted to pursuing former Spurs player Dimitar Berbatov, as the Bulgarian's future is in question at United. The joint top scorer in the Epl last year, finds it near impossible to get a starting berth at United, due to the rise of Javier Hernandez. Berbatov has been accused of being a lazy player by United fans, a style that Spurs fans hold near and dear to their heart. A return would be welcomed by many, but in my opinion Berb's needs to seek new pastures, like signing for interested club PSG.
Harry's most recent pot-shot has been directed at Athletic Bilbao's monstrous striker, Fernando Llorente. The broad-shouldered Spanish International nick named "El Grandee, "has been chased by many clubs including Spanish giants Real Madrid, but has yet to be tempted away from his home town club of Bilbao. Harry will find this task a difficult one, but nevertheless will try to work some magic, as he is certainly capable of conjuring some, seen with last-minute acquisition of Rafael Vander Vaart last season. Tottenham and Bilbao meet in a friendly match this Saturday, where Harry will have ample opportunity to whisper some sweet nothings to Llorente, in an attempt to commandeer the wondrous talent.
Others rumored to be on Harry's hit list include Emmanuel Adebayor, Mirko Vucinic and Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo.
When Spurs kick off their first league match against Everton on August 13th, Harry's front line may consist of new blood, but questions remain on wether or not he can secure some deals before the window closes. Crouch had a terrible season in front of goal, but with the introduction of Vander Vaart, Crouch's primary role is to play a moving back-board for the Dutch-man. Crouch is a useful player to have for these purposes, but he's not a 20 goal a-season player. Pavlyuchenko was signed after a good showing in the 2008 Euro's for a Russian side that punched high above their weight. Ever since he signed for Spurs he has seemingly wanted to leave, but with an influx of game time under Harry he has stuck around longer than expected. A talented player who on the off-hand comes up with the miraculous, has yet to justify regular game time. Former captain Robbie Keane seems a definite departure, Jermaine Defoe has been linked with a move away, but come season's start he should still be wearing the lillywhite kit.
Hopefully for Spurs fan's, Ol'Arry wrangles a new striker, who can score consistently, remains injury free, helping to bring the forth spot to North London. If he fails to do so he will be stuck with the same Ol' cowboys...So I have to ask Spurs fans one question..."Do you feel lucky? Do ya?"
