? David Beckham considers loan move to Tottenham
? 'He could have a big impact,' says Harry Redknapp
Although David Beckham has previously said that he could not envisage playing for any English club other than Manchester United, sources close to him tonight confirmed he would consider Tottenham Hotspur's offer. Beckham believes a loan move to the Premier League until the resumption of the Major League Soccer season with Los Angeles Galaxy in March will not only enable him to maintain his fitness but help him fulfil his ambition of adding to his 115 England caps.
He hopes to hold talks with Galaxy next week in an effort to secure permission for a move, though the club may be reluctant after he suffered an injury while on loan at Milan last year. Harry Redknapp said Tottenham will also contact Galaxy "to find out the situation", adding that, "if he's available, we're interested".
Ars�ne Wenger recently praised the influence that Beckham had on his players when he trained with Arsenal during his rehabilitation from injury in 2008 and the Spurs manager said he could make a similar contribution to Tottenham and still be a force on the pitch.
"I think he'd be a good influence at the football club, he's the type of lad who'd give the place a lift," said Redknapp. "He's a proper professional. I read Theo Walcott the other day saying how he spent time around the training ground practising with him ? you need people like that around you.
"He's been a fantastic player and he's someone who the players would look up to and respect, and I think he could still do a job, for sure. If he's over his injuries and is as fit as he thinks he is, then he could still play at the top level. It's not as if he's suddenly lost blistering pace ? he had no pace when he was 17, but he has a great brain and is a great deliverer and striker of the ball."
Redknapp denied that a move for Beckham would be a marketing gimmick, saying that, with David Bentley likely to leave Tottenham on loan in January, Beckham could enjoy a significant amount of playing time. "He'd only be coming for a couple of months so I wouldn't have thought he'd sell a load of shirts. Bentley wants to go on loan in the [January transfer] window to play somewhere and then we've only got Aaron Lennon who can play wide right, so [Beckham] would giveme another option. He can still do a job, otherwise I wouldn't bother. I'm not in a position where I need to go get somebody to sell tickets. The ground's full every week. If he came, he could make a big impact."
Redknapp said the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, was firmly behind him in strengthening the squad for a tilt at a Champions League place. "The owner would like me in all honesty to go and spend his money and buy somebody who could make the difference," he said.
Redknapp, whose Spurs team host Fulham tomorrow, suggested the fact the 35-year-old Beckham wanted a loan showed his exceptional competitive instinct. "I've heard stories about how much he earns and it's mind-blowing," Redknapp said. "He might be a billionaire, he could probably buy any football club in this country if he wanted to ? and yet when he's got three months where he could go back to LA and enjoy the sunshine and the easy life, he wants to come here in the freezing cold and play football. That tells you everything about him. He's still got the passion for the game. He's not doing it for the money, that's for sure."
Redknapp said that rather than resent the arrival of Beckham ? who was born a few miles away from White Hart Lane and attended Tottenham's centre of excellence as a child ? his players, especially their right-midfielder Lennon, would welcome the opportunity to work with him. The manager went on to suggest that the presence of a player who won six Premier League titles and the Champions League with Manchester United and one Spanish league title with Real Madrid could strengthen the club's pursuit of honours. "I'm sure Aaron would love to work with him on the crossing and his final ball."
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