TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR have moved towards clinching a £5 million (€6.34 million) deal for Manchester City and Ireland central defender Richard Dunne as they strengthen their squad for an assault on the top four places in the Premier League next season.
Dunne flew into London with the Republic of Ireland squad yesterday, played in the friendly victory over Colombia at Craven Cottage last night and is expected to have further talks with Spurs today.
Juande Ramos, the manager, has been unconvinced by Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul, his young central defenders, and the concerns relating to Ledley King's fitness are well documented. Ramos signed Jonathan Woodgate for £8 million (€10.1 milliion) from Middlesbrough in January but wants a tough and experienced partner for him and Dunne fits the profile.
Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, is determined to break the Big Four monopoly and qualify for the Champions League and he has been told by Ramos he must speculate to accumulate.
Levy appears to be heeding the Spaniard's advice to ignore making profits in the short term. And, after completing the signing of Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb for £16.5 million (€21 million) along with the Crystal Palace prodigy John Bostock, Spurs negotiators yesterday shook hands on a deal with Barcelona which will bring Mexican Under-17 World Cup winner Giovani dos Santos to White Hart Lane for £12.5 million (€16 million).
Personal terms for a four-year contract has also been agreed for a 19-year-old talent who counts Ronaldinho and Zinedine Zidane among his fans. Giovani has been swayed in his decision to join Spurs despite interest from Inter, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Several major clubs have been following him since he orchestrated Mexico's Under-17 World Cup victory three years ago but it was the Spurs manager's personal experience of the player which proved the key. The then 18-year-old handed victory to Barca against Ramos's Sevilla precisely a month before the coach took over at Spurs, turning the tide of the match and winning a vital penalty.
Spurs then stole a march on rivals such as Chelsea, who have made two unsuccessful moves for the player having scouted him for nearly five years, by meeting his agent, Pini Zahavi, in January when Ramos underlined his commitment to signing the winger.
Ronaldinho has said of Giovani: "Gio possesses everything I love to watch. He improvises, he dribbles and he loves to score. I have adored watching him in training."
Guardian Service
