TOTTENHAM’S desperate hunt for a top-class striker will go to the wire tonight after the club launched a last-minute bid for Villarreal’s Guiseppe Rossi.

Spurs have already had offers for Aletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan rejected in the last 24 hours, after also missing out on Newcastle’s Andy Carroll earlier in the month.

Now the north Londoners have switched their focus to former Manchester United striker Rossi, who scored a hat-trick against Spurs at White Hart Lane in pre-season.

The Spanish outfit triumphed 4-1 on July 30, and 23-year-old Italy international Rossi stole the show with three classy finishes.

Harry Redknapp suggested this morning that there would be little action at Tottenham on transfer deadline day, and insisted that he would be heading home after training.

However, the Spurs boss is still believed to be at the club’s Spurs Lodge training ground in Essex, along with key figures such as Darren Eales, the director of football administration.

With less than three and a half hours to go before the transfer window slams shut, the Lilywhites face a dramatic race against time as they bid to bolster their front line.

Spurs launched an audacious �38.5million bid for Atletico Madrid’s Aguero last night but were rebuffed, and the Argentina international signed a contract extension today.

The Lilywhites immediately turned to Aguero’s strike partner, Forlan, but their �13m bid was also rejected by the Spanish outfit.

And, given that Uruguay’s World Cup star Forlan is 31 years old, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy declined to up the bid.

Tottenham’s frustration will only be exacerbated by the fact that their primary target, Carroll, is on his way to Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are also set to strengthen their front line with a �50m move for Fernando Torres.

Newcastle’s urgent need for a striker could result in an 11th-hour move for Spurs’ Peter Crouch, but the England striker is very unlikely to leave White Hart Lane tonight.