Jenas bait in Tottenham’s Vieira swoop
TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp is ready to use England midfielder Jermaine Jenas as bait in a sensational deal for Patrick Vieira.
Inter Milan are reportedly willing to let Vieira, former captain of Spurs’ arch-rivals Arsenal, leave the club for a fee of around £3.5m.
Tottenham are among a host of clubs chasing the 33-year-old Frenchman’s signature, but Redknapp is prepared to offer Jenas in order to clinch the transfer.
Inter head coach Jose Mourinho is a long-standing admirer of Jenas, 26, from his days in the Premier League as Chelsea manager.
Any deal involving £8m-rated Jenas would likely see Inter handing over Vieira and a cash sum.
Tottenham are set to offer Vieira a short-term contract, although he will be expected to accept a huge cut in wages to make a controversial return to north London.
The tough-tackling midfielder lifted three Premier League titles and four FA Cups during nine years at Arsenal, where he became synonymous with Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager.
Senegal-born Vieira left for Juventus in 2005 for £13.7m but, following the club’s relegation for match-fixing, moved to Inter just a year later. A series of injuries has restricted his involvement at the Serie A champions, but Bordeaux, Paris St Germain, Lyon and Birmingham have all been linked with offers for Vieira.
Wheeler-dealer Redknapp is yet to dip into the transfer market this summer, but is also thought to want a striker. Roma forward Mirko Vucinic, however, has emphatically distanced himself from suggestion he could join Spurs.
“At the moment it’s useless to talk because there aren’t any offers,” said Vucinic. “If one should arrive I will talk with the club and we’ll see. Obviously there are places where I would not want to go. Tottenham? Let’s reject that.”
Redknapp is thought to be ready to sell strike pair Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko.