While the eyes of most fans may be turned towards South Africa rather than the goings-on at their own clubs, speculation never sleeps - not least at Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs are reputedly linked with moves for Diego Forlan, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Steven Pienaar. All three are featuring for their countries at the World Cup and any one of them would be a great addition to the Spurs squad. Harry Redknapp is, in his capacity as a BBC pundit, ideally placed to run the rule over all of them, if he so desires. The most persistent rumour seems to center on Forlan, and one plausible option might be to sell Pavlyuchenko and/or Keane to bring in the necessary funds, or perhaps even use one of them as a makeweight to seal the deal. Despite his late-season run in the side, Pavlyuchenko's shirt would still appear to be hanging on a shaky nail at the club. Keane has scored 12 goals in 16 appearances - albeit in an inferior league - while on loan at Celtic. Since his stock is currently as high as it is ever likely to be, now would seem to be the ideal time to move him on.

Two English midfielders are also the subject of transfer talk, with Stoke reportedly interested in Jermaine Jenas and Villa in David Bentley. Both have talent to burn, and perhaps it could burn brighter away from White Hart Lane. If Jenas and Bentley do depart, it would leave Spurs light in terms of midfield options. Redknapp has soft-pedaled his interest in Joe Cole, a player whom he knows well from their time together at West Ham, and is of the opinion that the player may have already agreed terms with another Premier League club - perhaps even that other team from North London. There is, however, a potentially even better prospect. While expressing surprise about Michael Dawson being selected for the England squad of 30 yet not featuring in any of the warm-up games, Redknapp talked in the same terms about another player, namely West Ham's Scott Parker:

"They tell me Scott trained fantastically every day in training and could not have done any more. He worked his socks off. But whatever he did he was not going to go. Someone said to me he felt like a ghost on the trip, like Dawson, they were there but not there and they could sense that".

Parker - inexplicably left out of the final 23 behind out of sorts ex-Spur, Michael Carrick - would be a fantastic acquisition. He possesses a drive and a physical presence that only Wilson Palacios in the current Spurs side could match. The scenario to bring him to the Lane makes perfect sense. Jamie O'Hara - a player with Parker-like attributes - moves to Upton Park to be reunited with the new West Ham manager, Avram Grant, for whom he performed so well during his time on loan from Spurs at Portsmouth. Parker, in turn, joins Spurs. Simple. Or at least let's hope so.

One issue that thankfully is not subject to speculation is the future of Luka Modric, who has signed a new six-year deal at the club, despite the overtures of Sir Alex Ferguson. Modric has said, commendably, that "Tottenham Hotspur gave me my chance in the Premier League and I want to go on to achieve great success here with them". His contract should mean that the Spurs fans will enjoy watching the 24 year old Croatian at the peak of his footballing career. It is thrilling to think that the best may yet be to come from the club's one indisputably world class player.

The remaining major rumour surrounds not a player but the manager himself, now that the Liverpool hot seat is vacant. And indeed who could resist the siren song of a club that finished seventh last season and who are mired in debt? Who would want to play Champions League football and so pass up the chance to work with - or should that be for - Gillett and Hicks? Who would want to leave a team moving forward for one that is going backwards?