Spurs tell Harry: stay and we'll give you £50m to spend
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham are urging Harry Redknapp to commit his future to the club by offering him an improved four-year deal and £50m to spend in the transfer market this summer.
Spurs' hierarchy have become frustrated at the continuing uncertainty over Redknapp's future, with the Football Association yet to approach the 65-year-old about the England manager's role following Fabio Capello's departure last month.
It is believed that no contact has been made at all, either through third parties or intermediaries to Redknapp directly, as the FA continues to compile a shortlist of candidates to take charge before Euro 2012. Chairman Daniel Levy is pressurising Redknapp to sign amid concerns the situation is creating uncertainty with Tottenham poised to finish in the top four and earn another crack at the Champions League.
Redknapp's contract with Spurs expires at the end of next season and negotiations have begun on a new four-year deal on an increased salary from his present £3m a year before bonuses. But the offer also includes the promise of significant investment in the team regardless of where they finish this season, with Levy insistent he will do all he can to land Spurs' top targets, Marseilles striker Loïc Remy and Lille playmaker Eden Hazard.
Tottenham were quoted a £20m fee for Remy in January and will make a formal offer at the end of the season, while £30m-rated Hazard spoke three weeks ago about a move to England, suggesting "maybe it will be Tottenham – it is a great English club".
Discussions between Spurs and Redknapp are at an early stage, with Levy currently away in Florida, but it is thought the club want an outcome in the near future to end speculation surrounding the England hotseat.
Levy is keen to know whether he has to begin the search for a new manager in earnest, with Chelsea complicating the pursuit of top-class managers after sacking Andre Villas-Boas last Sunday following just eight months in charge.
The FA insists it is mindful of disrupting clubs during the current campaign and is looking to make an appointment in early May but the feeling at Spurs is that they would rather know earlier where they stand so they can plan for the future. Redknapp has made no secret of his desire to listen to what the FA has to say and although he remains the front-runner for the England job, a complicated compensation clause in his contract worth around £5m is a factor under consideration.
Another issue is the FA's desire for the new manager to take an active role across all age groups when the national football centre at St George's Park in Staffordshire opens in August.
The FA is thought to be unsure whether Redknapp would be keen to work closely with England's Under-16s up to the U-21s and the seniors.
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