PORTSMOUTH HAVE opened preliminary talks with Tony Adams about him succeeding Harry Redknapp as manager but there were fears last night the club's star players might be tempted away during the January transfer window.

Redknapp's sudden move on Saturday night to succeed the sacked Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur has had an adverse effect on the dressing room and strikers Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch are among those whose morale has been shaken. Redknapp was the chief reason why a host of players moved to Fratton Park and his departure has left a void.

"Harry was a big reason why I came back to the club," said Crouch, who signed from Liverpool in July, having previously played for Portsmouth in 2001-02. And Portsmouth have braced themselves for a January raid from Redknapp after he said yesterday he would be keen on taking Defoe back to White Hart Lane.

"If he ever came back up for sale, then I'm sure we would be interested," he said of the player who left Tottenham for Portsmouth in January after failing to command a regular first-team place. Much has changed at Tottenham since, with the departures of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, and Defoe's name was chanted by the White Hart Lane crowd on Sunday, during Redknapp's first match in charge - the 2-0 victory over Bolton.

Tottenham could be prepared to sweeten any move for Defoe with the offer of Aaron Lennon in part-exchange while they also hold a long-standing interest in Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra, who has also spoken in glowing terms of Redknapp.

Ironically, Redknapp said when he was in charge at Portsmouth he and the board of directors had turned down a €18.7 million bid for Diarra - believed to be from Tottenham - and that the player was worth €31 million. Redknapp also plans to add to his coaching staff and last night the former Spurs midfielder Tim Sherwood said he would have further talks with the club. Kevin Bond has already been added to the staff.

Since his arrival at Tottenham Redknapp has risked the wrath of the Portsmouth crowd that adored him by revealing the club's owner, Sacha Gaydamak, would be prepared to sell at the right price.

"I think he's looking at it and thinking things are a little bit tight at the moment," said Redknapp. "All clubs are up for sale ... there's no doubt that Portsmouth is one of the clubs where the owner is looking for a new buyer."

But chief executive, Peter Storrie, has said despite reports of debts of €40 million and the problems of maximising revenue streams in a stadium that holds 20,228 and has little room for corporate hospitality, there is no requirement to sell players when the transfer window opens.

"In the summer we sold Sulley Muntari [for a club record €22.5 million] and Pedro Mendes but used most of that money in bring in Peter Crouch, Younes Kaboul and a couple of loan players," said Storrie, who also turned down a big offer for Defoe from another Premier League club, believed to be Manchester City. "If we were to sell players, we would reinvest and bring other players in.

"Sacha Gaydamak has owned this club for two-and-a-half years and has continued to put finance into the club to bring in players. It will be his decision in January whether he wants to continue that growth and expand."

Portsmouth's priority is to replace Redknapp and, while the credentials of former Chelsea manager Avram Grant and Sam Allardyce are being scrutinised, the appointment of Adams would at least offer some continuity and, at a fraction of his predecessor's salary, could prove cost effective.

The former Arsenal centre-half and Wycombe Wanderers manager has been a coach at Portsmouth since 2006 alongside the first-team coach, Joe Jordan. He would be tempted to bring his former central defensive partner at Highbury, Martin Keown, with him as part of his coaching staff.

Storrie said Adams and Jordan will remain in charge "for the foreseeable future" and will select the team for tomorrow's visit to the league leaders, Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Ramos, who has emerged as a target for Shakhtar Donetsk, has demanded 75 per cent of the remaining value of his Tottenham contract, which was to run until 2011. His annual salary was €5 million.