LONDON: Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp yesterday confirmed the club had received an offer from Werder Bremen for Niko Kranjcar but said he was keen to hang on to the Croatian midfielder.
Kranjcar’s future at White Hart Lane has been thrown into uncertainty following his failure to command a place in Spurs’ starting line-up and the recent signing of Steven Pienaar from Everton.
Redknapp said that while Kranjcar had indicated he favoured a move, he doubted the 26-year-old would end up in the Bundesliga.
“There is a German club (Bremen) that have come in for him. They have offered good money for him but I’m not keen to lose Niko,” Redknapp said ahead of Spurs’ FA Cup game with Fulham tomorrow.
“He is a good player, a fantastic player. I don’t think he wants to go to Germany and play.
“I don’t think he feels that’s an option for him. If that’s the case then he will stay here and that’s great for us as well.”
With Spurs still challenging in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, Redknapp believes Kranjcar will have a role to play as the fixtures pile up towards the back end of the season.
“We have a lot of games coming up. We are going to need a squad,” said Redknapp, who signed Kranjcar from Portsmouth in 2009.
“These games are going to be coming thick and fast ... It’s going to be Saturday, midweek, Saturday, midweek. Niko is going to be an important player for us.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham midfielder Gareth Bale will miss tomorrow’s tie at Fulham with the back injury that forced him off against Newcastle last week.
“He’s been to see a specialist and it shouldn’t be too long, a bit of work on it and he should be okay,” Redknapp told reporters yesterday.
“He’s never, ever needed an operation. That’s the last resort when you have a back problem. He has a little back injury that went into a spasm, but he should be back in 10 days.”
Striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and leftback Benoit Assou-Ekotto are fit after missing the trip to Newcastle while goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes is back in training following a shoulder injury.
However, midfielders Wilson Palacios (knee) and Sandro (back) are doubtful.
“We’ve one or two knocks and we’ve only really got two central midfielders fully fit in Luka Modric and Jermaine Jenas,” added Redknapp.
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