• Spurs manager rebuts allegations of unsettling midfielder
• Redknapp no closer to resolution in bid for Bellamy

Harry Redknapp has hit back in the row over the future of West Ham’s Scott Parker. Redknapp and Spurs were this week accused of unsettling the player with their £7m bid, the Hammers co-chairman David Sullivan saying he was “very angry with Harry, Daniel [Levy, the Tottenham chairman] and Spurs”.

But Redknapp argued that any damage to the players’ peace of mind was the fault of West Ham. “Who made it public that we made an offer?” he said last night following Spurs’ 4-1 friendly defeat against Villarreal.

“You can make an offer for a player if you want to. You can make an offer for anybody. I’m sure the chairman must have got some encouragement or he wouldn’t have made an offer. So I’m not sure the full story has been told about that one. The chairman wouldn’t have made an offer unless he thought there was a chance that they wanted to do something.”

A deal for another target, Manchester City’s Craig Bellamy, also seems no closer to a resolution. “I like Craig Bellamy but I don’t know if they would sell him,” said Redknapp. “The chairman deals with all the transfers. He asks me what I want and I tell him. I don’t know where he’s at with Bellamy, if anywhere.”

Redknapp also revealed the motivation behind his attempts to sign two players with a combined age of 60, with the reigning European champions proving the inspiration. “If you’re going to be really successful you need a few men in your team, not lads that are learning,” he said.

“We’ve got a good group of players but two or three players with experience would make a massive difference to the team. You look at Inter Milan – they won the Champions League with a team of men, they were all experienced players. You need players with experience.”

Harry RedknappTottenham HotspurWest Ham UnitedTransfer windowJohn Ashdownguardian.co.uk

• Hammers reject £7m offer from local rivals
• David Sullivan vows to keep star midfielder

Scott Parker would like to consider Tottenham Hotspur’s proposal to take him across London to White Hart Lane and has been left frustrated at West Ham United’s refusal to countenance the deal.

Spurs have had a £7m offer rejected out of hand by the West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan, who has said the midfielder is not for sale and that Parker is to be offered a lucrative new five-year contract. The midfielder has three years to run on his current deal.

But Parker is tempted by what would be a hugely contentious switch – there is

• Croatian would challenge Heurelho Gomes as Spurs No1
• Pletikosa almost joined Tottenham last summer before injury

Harry Redknapp has said Tottenham Hotspur are close to signing the Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa from Spartak Moscow. Pletikosa, who has 80 caps, would challenge Heurelho Gomes for the No1 spot at Spurs.

“I might be taking another goalkeeper from Croatia – Pletikosa,” Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, told croatiansoccerreport.com. “[There is] every chance I might be getting him so that’s good.”

Pletikosa, who has played for Hajduk Split and Shakhtar Donetsk, represented his country at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. He was close to joining Tottenham last summer before suffering a knee injury.

Redknapp has been seeking strong competition for Gomes since Carlo Cudicini was injured in a motorcycle accident last November. Cudicini is playing again but Redknapp, who finished last season with the inexperienced Ben Alnwick as his No2 goalkeeper, has decided to bring in the 31-year-old Pletikosa.

Tottenham already have three Croatian players in Luka Modric, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar. “I would say the best players I ever managed in my life have been Croatian boys,” Redknapp said. “They’re fantastic boys. I have had Igor Stimac, Slaven Bilic, Davor Suker. Robert Prosinecki was a genius. Fantastic footballers and all great guys.”

Tottenham HotspurSpartak MoscowTransfer windowJon Brodkinguardian.co.uk