Marseilles tell Redknapp that striker Rémy is not for sale

Harry Redknapp has been told that Marseilles' Loïc Rémy will not be joining Spurs this month (AP)

Harry Redknapp was told by the Marseilles president, Vincent Labrune, that Loïc Rémy will not be allowed to leave the club this month when the Tottenham manager attended the club's home game against Lille on Sunday night.Redknapp was treated warmly by the French club and invited into Labrune's personal suite to watch the game but was left in no doubt that a move for the player was not an option this transfer window. Labrune told Redknapp that the club's supporters would never forgive him if he sanctioned the sale of the player, who scored both Marseilles' goals in Sunday's 2-0 win.

Tottenham recognise that they have to begin planning for life after Emmanuel Adebayor who is likely to prove out of their budget in the summer when his loan deal from Manchester City expires. Rémy, a France international, is one option along with Demba Ba, who has a buy-out clause of less than £10m in his contract with Newcastle. Until then, Redknapp is not prepared to allow any of his strikers to leave. Certainly there is no prospect of Redknapp sanctioning the sale of Jermain Defoe, who is the subject of interest from Liverpool this month. Redknapp complained last week that the player's new agent, Struan Marshall, who also represents Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Stewart Downing, was trying to secure Defoe a move away from White Hart Lane.

Liverpool's need for a new striker has been well documented although £10m for Defoe may well be beyond the club's resources anyway. Redknapp has a good relationship with Defoe having managed him at West Ham and signed him twice, at Portsmouth and then Tottenham, and does not envisage the player causing trouble.

Rémy said yesterday he was staying at his club for the foreseeable future. "I will stay at Marseilles until the end of the season and even the end of my contract," he said. "It would not be right for me to leave this club."