Southampton today rejected a £4million bid from Tottenham Hotspur for centre-back Dean Richards. Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle had hoped to sign Richards, who played under him while Hoddle was manager at The Dell, as a replacement for former Spurs favourite Sol Campbell. However, Southampton's chairman Rupert Lowe issued an angry statement snubbing the offer.
Lowe, who was very unhappy with how Spurs acted in persuading Hoddle to leave the Saints and return to White Hart Lane as a replacement for the sacked George Graham, also criticised the club for its actions regarding their quest to sign Richards. Rumours have been circulating in the press for the past fortnight, linking Spurs with the former England under-21 star.
"The timing and level of this offer are unfortunate and unrealistic, and follow a period of Press speculation about Dean Richards' career. We believe that the way in which Tottenham Hotspur have behaved goes against the spirit of the wording of the protocol, which clubs signed up to at the Premier League meeting in June. Our interpretation of the situation is a bad attack of deep pockets and short fingers," said Lowe.
Lowe's comments would seem to suggest that Richards will not be prised away from St Mary's Stadium under any circumstances. "The key issue is that Dean is not for sale. In life, if you want to buy something that is not for sale, you have to pay a lot of money to get it," he explained.
However, Spurs are not giving up their chase for the 27-year-old defender just yet. Spurs assistant boss John Gorman confirmed: "We're keeping our fingers crossed and will keep working at that - and hopefully something will develop."
Richards himself has already publicly stated that he would be interested in a move to a club like Tottenham and although the Saints have rejected Spurs initial offer, if they were to increase their bid and Richards pressed for a transfer, the deal could yet go through. "I've still got ambitions and I'd still love to play for a big, big club - and Spurs are a big, big club. If it did come up and it was an option, then I wouldn't write it of," explained Richards.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
