Tottenham Transfer Rumors: 7 Big Signings to Convince Bale and Modric to Stay

Tottenham's struggles have continued.

Yesterday, the day that Tottenham fans have been dreading for some time finally came to pass: Arsenal passed Tottenham in the table after being 10 points behind their North London rivals less than a month ago.

Now Tottenham have bigger things to worry about. Even with Chelsea's loss to Manchester City this past Wednesday, Chelsea are only five points behind Tottenham, and allowing Chelsea to overtake them would effectively render all of Tottenham's progress this season completely pointless.

On top of this, Champions League qualification wouldn't necessarily convince Luka Modric or Gareth Bale to stay with Tottenham. Both players are highly-rated and pursued by some of the best teams in the world, and could compete for major honors at bigger clubs.

For now, the focus in the short term has to be on taking things one-by-one, looking at each game as a cup final, and winning as many games as possible.

But in the long term, Spurs need to prove that they are looking to challenge for major honors in the future if they want to hold onto their world-class players.

Here are seven players that would signal that ambition to Modric and Bale, and the rest of the squad as well.

I think I've used the above picture of Hazard at least 100 times by now.

Harry Redknapp is notorious for being one of the most unpredictable managers in the transfer market. Some might even call him a "wheeler dealer," though we'd advise against using that term in his presence.

Because of this reputation, it was somewhat surprising to hear Redknapp confirm that Tottenham were indeed in on Eden Hazard, and had put him "on [their] list" for the summer.

It isn't too surprising though, especially when considering that it was Hazard himself who first opened the door to a move to Tottenham.

I don't think we'll hear many developments on this story between now and the summer, but I'd expect Tottenham to be favorites for Hazard's signature if—and it's a big if—Tottenham can keep hold of Luka Modric and Harry Redknapp.

And if Hazard signs, I expect him to erase most if not all of the doubts that Gareth Bale or Modric might have about staying at Tottenham.

Emmanuel Adebayor is already a Tottenham player.

According to The Telegraph however, Tottenham could finally be set to sign him on a permanent deal with a £4 million up-front payment and £100,000-a-week wages, in addition to whatever transfer fee is agreed upon between Tottenham andManchester City.

Adebayor has been a key player for Tottenham this season, and Daniel Levy is keen to secure the Togolese international's future with the club as soon as possible, especially with the possibility of Harry Redknapp's departure looming over the club.

The £4 million payment to Adebayor would compensate for the lost wages he would experience in downgrading from his £170,000-a-week to £100,000-a-week.

We've been hearing about a permanent deal for Adebayor since January now, but nothing has materialized. The sooner this is taken care of, the sooner Tottenham can focus on signing new players for the team.

And more importantly, with Adebayor's future settled, Bale and Modric are sure to feel much more comfortable spending at least next season with the club.

According to talkSPORT, Tottenham have emerged as favorites to sign Jan Vertonghen in the summer for a fee of around £15 million.

Ajax have reportedly become resigned to losing their best defender, and want to cash in on their star center back to avoid losing him on a free transfer in the summer of 2013.

Vertonghen has already spoken very positively about Tottenham, telling Goal.com:

I think Tottenham are an amazing club and you see how well they are doing this season. They are in the top three in England and that’s where I want to play. I can’t say anything about whether there has been contact about a transfer but I think my game can be suited to English football.

I love the atmosphere and it has the best players in the world, it breathes football. It’s one of my goals to play in the best leagues and against the best players. It’s the only competition I watch apart from Barcelona.

As has already been pointed out in the talkSPORT article, Tottenham will surely face competition from at least Arsenal and maybe even Chelsea for Vertonghen's signature, but there are many signs that the odds may be in their favor to sign the Belgian defender when summertime rolls around.

With the young Belgian shoring up what has been a very injury-prone position (center-back) for Tottenham, Vertonghen's signing may play a big role in getting Bale or Modric to commit to remaining with Tottenham.

Junior Hoilett has been in scintillating form for Blackburn recently. His three goals in his last two games have helped Blackburn secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and Blackburn now look more likely than ever to escape relegation.

But while Blackburn's situation for next season is looking more secure, Hoilett's situation looks more uncertain than ever. Hoilett has reportedly refused to sign a new deal with Blackburn, and looks very likely to leave on a free transfer in the summer.

His top potential destinations? You guessed it—Tottenham and Arsenal.

Junior Hoilett was reportedly a target for Spurs in the winter as well, but being the stickler that he is, Redknapp smartly chose to be patient and wait until the summer to bid for Hoilett, knowing that he could get him for next to nothing in the summer.

Hoilett doesn't have the instant name-recognition that most of the other guys on this list do, but he could cause some serious damage on the right flank for Tottenham, and finally provide Spurs with depth in the absence of Aaron Lennon.

And who knows? In time, he may just prove himself good enough to start ahead of Lennon. Heck, I'd probably start him ahead of Lennon right now, considering their contrasting fortunes this season.

Tottenham gossip writers must sure get tired of recycling the same old stor—oh wait.

In all seriousness, Tottenham are a frugal club: They start the season with a short list of potential winter and summer targets, and that list hardly changes over the course of the season.

So we have much less to work with than Real Madrid or Manchester City gossip writers, who'll find every top player in the world linked to their club over the course of the season.

I digress. Loic Remy was a major target for Tottenham in the winter, and was almost successfully signed by the club, before the Marseille president made the gutsy but correct decision to turn down Spurs' offer.

The good news however is that Remy is reportedly open to a move this summer, once Euro 2012 is done and dusted. The striker has stated he's looking for a club in Italy or England, and Tottenham are widely considered favorites for his signature.

Until Adebayor signs permanently with Tottenham, the striker position will be Tottenham's top priority in the transfer market.

Even after he signs, Jermain Defoe and Louis Saha have lacked the consistency up front for a club challenging for the EPL title and European honors, so Remy could be a good upgrade for the club.

And with a frontline of Adebayor and Remy, Bale and Modric would have to be mad to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Ganso rumors have gone very quiet since it was reported back in January that the Brazilian could make a shock move to Tottenham.

Though almost nothing new on Ganso's transfer status has come out since then, this could play in Tottenham's favor.

Redknapp may continue to play dumb regarding his knowledge of Ganso, but surely even he has been briefed about the Brazilian international's quality by now.

Ganso isn't likely to be high on Tottenham's list of priority signings, but with Redknapp, you can never rule anything out.

He'd be a quality signing for Tottenham, and would definitely relieve some of the playmaking pressure often placed on Modric.

Milos Krasic is the second failed January signing on this list.

This winter, Tottenham were very interested in bringing the Serbian winger to Spurs on deadline day, but the Serbian got picky, saying he was only interested in a permanent move, and not a loan.

Redknapp was not prepared at the time to give Krasic a permanent transfer, considering the little game time he's received at Juventus this season, and so talks broke down.

But now, Krasic has voiced his regret at turning down the opportunity to join Spurs, and is desperate to leave Juve at the end of the season.

Even with his limited game-time this season, he has shown himself to be a quality winger in seasons past, and is very much still in his prime.

Give his situation, he could be a cheap signing for Tottenham, and provide the club with much needed depth and quality as a back-up to both Bale and Lennon.