Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal in principle with Steven Pienaar, having beaten off competition from Internazionale and Atlético Madrid with a contract worth £70,000 a week over four years. It is unclear, however, whether they will pay around £2m to Everton this month to push the transfer through or wait until the summer when the South African midfielder would be available as a Bosman free agent.
Everton would be reluctant sellers during this transfer window but the manager, David Moyes, has been told that he must generate funds for the three loan signings he feels he needs to make, with the priority a centre-forward. He will attempt to sign Monaco's Dieumerci Mbokani having freed up the funds for a £1m loan fee by allowing Yakubu Ayegbeni to join Leicester City. Yakubu will leave on loan with a view to a transfer in the summer.
Pienaar's contract at Goodison Park expires at the end of the season and he has ignored the club's offer of fresh terms of £60,000 a week, which has been on the table since the end of the previous campaign. When Everton subsequently agreed terms of £75,000 a week with Mikel Arteta, Pienaar had hoped for parity but such a proposal has not been forthcoming.
Moyes has said he would prefer to keep Pienaar for the remainder of the season, reasoning that forfeiting a transfer fee would be offset by the retention of a key player for the months ahead, particularly as Pienaar has continued to give his all for the club. Neither Moyes nor the Everton support has had reason to reproach Pienaar for his professionalism.
The manager faces a difficult decision, though, because in spite of recent flickers from Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford, he urgently needs a new striker. Everton have mustered only 23 goals in 21 Premier League matches.
Harry Redknapp has tracked Pienaar for some time and although the Tottenham manager would appear to be well stocked at left midfield, where he has Gareth Bale, he knows that Pienaar can play in a central role and would be a viable alternative to Aaron Lennon on the right.
Redknapp's move for the 28-year-old ought not to be interpreted as paving the way for Tottenham to cash in on Bale, who is a target for virtually every top club in Europe after his excellent calendar year of 2010. One aspect of Redknapp's philosophy is that you can never have too many good players. He does see Bale developing in the longer term into a left-back but he and the club have repeatedly stressed that the Welshman is not for sale at any price.
While Tottenham continue to hold talks over a loan move for David Beckham, who trained with the squad today, their interest in Everton's club captain Phil Neville, is unlikely to materialise into a transfer despite Redknapp's desire to add the 33-year-old's wealth of experience to his squad. The Everton chairman, Bill Kenwright, rebuffed an inquiry from his Tottenham counterpart, Daniel Levy, when the clubs met at Goodison last week and Neville's club are unhappy the interest has resurfaced when, as is the case with Pienaar, no offer has been made.
Moyes said: "I spoke with Harry Redknapp briefly before the transfer window opened. Daniel Levy and Bill had an even briefer conversation at our recent game against Spurs and mutually agreed that this would go no further. At no time was any offer made – nor would one have been welcomed. Phil Neville is our captain and is an important part of the Everton set-up."
The Everton striker Victor Anichebe is expected to sign a new three-year contract with the club this week. The Nigeria international recently rejected an extension amid interest from Cardiff City and Celtic, and Everton would not have been entitled to a compensation fee at the end of this season had he moved to Wales or Scotland on a free, but has now agreed terms to stay.