Redknapp wants to buy James but must talk round Levy first

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Harry Redknapp must convince chairman Daniel Levy to pay a fee for the England goalkeeper David James if he is to sign the player before tomorrow's transfer window deadline. James was left out of Portsmouth's 1-0 defeat by Manchester City yesterday and manager Paul Hart admitted that he did not know whether his goalkeeper would stay.

James is injured with a bruised knee which was painful during training on Saturday and persuaded Hart to leave him out of yesterday's team. The 39-year-old James wants to leave the club and Redknapp would like to bring him to White Hart Lane but Levy has reservations about paying a fee of around £5m for a player who will have little or no sell-on value.

Redknapp is anxious to sign a new goalkeeper with first choice Heurelho Gomes out with a thigh injury and Carlo Cudicini's form less than reassuring. The Spurs manager has never been entirely convinced by Gomes and regards James as a much better bet. However Levy does not regard Portsmouth's valuation as realistic.

He has also been a target for the Sunderland manager Steve Bruce, who made inquiries at the end of last week.

Hart said that he did not know if James would still be at the club after tomorrow and suggested that every Premier League manager had to deal with the same uncertainty. "There are two days to the transfer deadline and I don't think there is anybody in the Premier League who is confident of players not leaving. He [James] is the best goalkeeper in England and is injured so it [a transfer] would be slightly difficult anyway. I will have to speak to the owner [Sulaiman Al-Fahim]."

Mark Hughes praised Emmanuel Adebayor who scored the game's only goal. "It's clear to see he is happy where he is," said Hughes. "He's enjoying playing with good players again and the fans love him. Maybe that was missing from his life before." The City manager confirmed that Brian Kidd could be joining the club as an "elite level" coach to help bring young players from the academy to the first team.