Tottenham in the dark over Viera

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits his bid to sign Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira has gone "very quiet".

Redknapp claimed at the weekend the former Arsenal star wanted to move to White Hart Lane but has now conceded the transfer has not progressed since initial talks with the player's representative.

"There has been no progress whatsoever," Redknapp said in Beijing where his team will compete in the Barclays Asia Trophy this week.

"It has gone very quiet. When his name was put to me I was interested and we spoke with his representative.

"He was a player I was interested in and he would bring something to this club. Whether it happens now I am not sure but I am certainly interested if he is available."

Redknapp made a successful foray into the transfer market on Monday night when Spurs completed the signing of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth.

Darren Bent is expected to move from Spurs to Sunderland in the next few days.

Meanwhile, Redknapp has set his sights on winning some silverware in China to boost morale ahead of the new season.

Spurs tackle London rivals West Ham at Beijing's Workers Stadium tomorrow with the winner then facing either Hull or local side Beijing Guoan in the final on Friday.

Redknapp knows all about the Barclays Asia Trophy, having guided Portsmouth to success in Hong Kong two years ago, and that win preceded an impressive start to the season with Pompey losing just twice in their opening 10 Premier League games.

"We are very, very pleased to be in Beijing," he said. "It is the first time we have been here and we are looking forward to it.

"I took part in this tournament two years ago with Portsmouth, we won it then and we got off to a great start to the season when we got back home. I plan to do the same with Tottenham.

"We are here to play well and turn in a good performance and do our very best to win the cup."

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