It's one of the coldest January's on record since Harry Redknapp began his career in management and the wily old fox must be itching to adorn his warmest sheepskin jacket and wheel n' deal once more in the market.

Every agent in the land would have Harry on speed dial come January 1st to wish him many happy returns for the coming year and offer the services of a host of available players ready to transform the fortunes of Harry's team. This year however is different. Harry has a full complement of players, two for every position with quality throughout the squad. The team are performing well and while Harry will still want to freshen things up a little he is aware that too many players competing for the same positions can cause disharmony within the club. This season the likes of Gio, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko and Jenas have struggled to cement a regular place in the Spurs side despite injuries and suspensions, while O'Hara has been shipped out on loan. Harry Redknapp will therefore have to sell before he can buy with the aforementioned names being the most likely to leave through the back door.

The over-inflated transfer fees Spurs paid for under-performing stars such as Bentley and Pavlyuchenko may now prove a stumbling block to Harry's plans of bringing in new faces. Everybody knows that the pair want out in the January transfer window to start rebuilding their careers and no doubt have a good old moan to the papers about their time at the lane. However as the balance of power has shifted notably away from the club and firmly into the hands of any interested parties, the club can now expect to make a significant loss on both players.

Daniel Levy is renowned for being an ardent negotiator in the transfer market and will be loathe to see any red numerals on the balance sheet next to player investments/sales. However he may have to cut some of his losses and agree to sell this time if he is to hand Harry any further transfer funds in January.

It remains to be seen if Levy can negotiate an acceptable transfer fee for Spurs unwanted players but failure to do so would undoubtedly mean that the club and manager can expect to experience an unusually quiet transfer window.

Written By Pete Harris