Redknapp attempts to muscle in on Gudjohnsen

(GETTY IMAGES)

Harry Redknapp last night admitted that Tottenham plan to hijack Eidur Gudjohnsen's loan move to West Ham even though the former Chelsea striker completed a medical at the Upton Park club yesterday.

Speaking after last night's 2-0 win over Fulham, Redknapp said that he had spoken to Gudjohnsen's agent to tell him of his interest and passed him on to the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to discuss a deal. The Spurs manager said that he hoped to take Gudjohnsen until the end of the season with an agreement that his club Monaco would pay a percentage of his wages while he was at White Hart Lane.

Redknapp said that would not mean that Roman Pavlyuchenko, who is injured, would be sold this week. He has said in the past that he would not want more than four strikers at the club.

"Pavlyuchenko is injured – he was right in my plans but he has got a groin strain," Redknapp said. "Eidur can play in different positions. You can play different systems with him. He would be a good player to have. I just thought it was a good loan deal. When I heard about it I thought it was interesting."

Gudjohnsen, 31, left Chelsea in 2006 to join Barcelona; he joined Monaco last year. "I like Eidur, he's a good footballer," Redknapp said. "We wouldn't have to gazump them [West Ham]. If it's a loan, it's a loan. I spoke to his [Gudjohnsen's] agent to see what the deal was. Monaco are probably going to do a good part of his wages.

"I spoke to his agent and he said he was going to West Ham. I passed it on to the chairman. The wages are nothing to do with me. He [Gudjohnsen] would be a good loan signing, he's a good player. We have got a lot of games coming up and he would be useful. He would suit the way we play."

Gudjohnsen has fallen out with Monaco manager Guy Lacombe and even had a medical at West Ham with a view to signing for them yesterday. However, the West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola refused to talk about the deal last night and the club feel that they are not going to get the player now.

Meanwhile, the Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce has condemned Benni McCarthy as "unprofessional" and said his conduct is symptomatic of the selfishness and disloyalty shown by many players.

The South African has stayed away from training for three days as he sent Blackburn a message about his demand for a transfer. His actions produced the result yesterday that Blackburn and West Ham agreed a fee for the 32-year-old, who had described a switch to Upton Park as his "dream move".

Allardyce had warned that if the clubs did not reach an agreement, McCarthy might encounter ill feeling from the other Rovers players.