Could Campbell be the shock solution?
 | | SURELY NOT... Sol Campbell is a free agent after running out his contract at Portsmouth. |
By Ben Pearce
TOTTENHAM fans who are still recovering from the revelations about Harry Redknapp's interest in Patrick Vieira may need to sit down - the manager's got another popular idea.
"I think if I can get Sol [Campbell] in at the back I think him and Patrick would go down a bomb," said the Spurs boss. "I think it will liven the place up a bit. It's been quiet at Tottenham for too long, let's have a bit of excitement here."
It was surely only a joke, but Tottenham seem to laugh at the apparently impossible.
Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Pascal Chimbonda and now Peter Crouch have all returned to the Lane under Redknapp, with Defoe and Crouch both following their former manager from Portsmouth.
And three further factors need to be added to a slightly disturbing picture.
Tottenham have an injury crisis in central defence, Campbell is a free agent having run out his contract at Fratton Park, and Redknapp is keen to sign experienced Premier League veterans.
If it were not for his notorious past at Tottenham, Campbell would suddenly look like the perfect solution to the shortage at the back.
And, if the boss is happily pursuing Vieira, he clearly has few qualms about bringing a hate figure to the Lane.
Of course Campbell's return is massively unlikely and he would surely reject any offer out of hand, but the gaping chasm at the centre of Tottenham's rearguard is certainly a serious issue.
Jonathan Woodgate is in America seeing a specialist after an operation at the end of last season failed to solve a groin problem, and he may well miss the season's kick-off.
Meanwhile, Michael Dawson has an Achilles injury which will keep him out for a month, and Ledley King's knee has prevented him from kicking a ball in pre-season.
Even if King can play against Liverpool on the opening day, that would rule him out of the trip to Hull City three days later.
That leaves Vedran Corluka as the only fit centre-back, just two weeks before the start of the season.
French under-21 international Dorian Dervite is not an option, as he proved in the Wembley Cup against Celtic on Sunday, and Pascal Chimbonda did little to suggest that he could fill the void.
That leaves Redknapp pondering another foray into the transfer market, and he has already ruled out pricey moves for Brede Hangeland, Sylvain Distin and Matthew Upson.
Needs must...?
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