Jol hails arrival of 'Spurs fan' Davids
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Your support makes all the difference.Davids, 32, was undergoing the second half of a medical yesterday afternoon and, with no problems expected over personal terms, Tottenham should complete a deal today.
If Davids accepts Tottenham's contract offer he will reportedly receive a £1.5m signing on fee and become the club's highest earner on £47,000 a week. Tottenham have persuaded Internazionale to release Davids on a free transfer and Jol believes his presence will bring the best out of a squad with an average age of just 23.
"Edgar is the one I wanted. He is experienced, he wants to win and he has done that in his career many times," Jol said. "It is a great experience for young lads to have someone like him beside them. He is a very fit bloke, he is a fine professional and a player who will keep himself fit all the time."
Tottenham have been interested in signing Davids, who has won 73 caps for the Netherlands and played in four Champions' League finals, for a number of years but with little success.
Davids ended a miserable time with Milan by signing for Juventus in 1998 and he then went on loan to Barcelona when Tottenham had expressed a strong interest before joining Inter last summer. But Davids insists Tottenham is a club he always wanted to play for.
"I know when someone signs for Liverpool they say they were always a Liverpool supporter, but like me Davids really was a Tottenham fan when he was young," Jol said. "We are similar in that way. Three or four years ago he came up with the idea and was telling his agent to talk to Tottenham instead of Man United or Juventus.
"It never came through. Last year we tried to get him but he went to Barcelona. He didn't stay there but he had an offer from Inter. Maybe he is regretting that he didn't come here earlier."
Jol rejected reports that Tottenham are also interested in signing the Inter winger Andy van der Meyde or the Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuip.
"You are always trying to strengthen your squad, but I think ours is pretty good," Jol said. "We have never approached Kuip or made an offer because we have a group of four strikers who are second to none."
That closes the door on the possibility that Fredi Kanouté could be on his way out of the club, while Tottenham say there is no chance of Robbie Keane leaving either. It will mean competition for places, but that is exactly what Jol wants. "The players have to keep themselves happy. There is no change in the situation from last year and that proved to be very good for the club," Jol said.
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