Spurs New Boy Bongani Khumalo Ear-Marked For FA Cup Debut Against Charlton on January 9

Bongani Khumalo has been ear-marked to make his debut for Spurs on January 9 – against Charlton Athletic in the all-London FA Cup third round clash at White Hart Lane.

With centre-back Younes Kaboul sent off against Newcastle on Tuesday night and fellow defensive buttresses Jonathan Woodgate, William Gallas and Ledley King all still injured, boss Harry Redknapp is “down to the bare bones” in central defence as the New Year dawns.

Redknapp appears to have only Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong to juggle with as Spurs face Fulham at home on Saturday followed by Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.

Though Khumalo, 23, has had his problems with injury and form as champions Supersports United hover just above the relegation zone in South Africa this season, he may have had a chance of playing in those two upcoming Premier League matches. But the big freeze in England has delayed Khumalo’s arrival in North London.

Spurs are likely to shuffle the pack for the FA Cup clash and if Khumalo - whose first name, Bongani, means happiness - has settled and trained well, a debut against the Addicks is “quite likely”. Others believe he needs a spell on loan in the lower division to adapt to English conditions after his grounding in the mediocre South African Premier League.

Khumalo’s planned flight to Heathrow has been delayed with agent Glyn Binkin admitting: "There's been a slight delay because of all the snow – as you know, the work permit was granted a few weeks ago. We’re just waiting for the final visa to be validated - all the documents we had to send over were caught up in the post as a result of the freeze and things have taken slightly longer than we had anticipated.

"I'm certain he'll travel before the end of the week. Spurs have had a lot of injuries and suspensions so it's going to be a great opportunity when he finally gets to London. I hope he will rise to the occasion."

Spurs remain in contention for both the Premier League – their last two wins over Newcastle and Aston Villa came despite being reduced to 10 men twice – and the Champions League, where they finished top of their Group of Death, ahead of European Champions Inter Milan. They face city rival Milan in the first knock-out game on February 15.

But on the domestic knock-out front, Charlton are a potential stumbling block. The former Premier League club have slumped to League One in recent seasons. But the Addicks remain third in their third-flight division despite picking up only one point in their last three games over the Christmas period.

Khumalo, described by a Redknapp as “an African kid from a poor background” after his trial at White Hart Lane in August, has been at pains to state he is not the archetypal foreign signing. An only child whose father was a language professor, he famously responded: “I’m not one of 14 children. I’m probably quite middle class.”

Handed the captain’s armband by Gavin Hunt at Supersports, Khumalo is expected to achieve great things at Spurs after scoring against France during a World Cup when he was one of Bafana Bafana’s few true successes. But he may take time to settle in, especially with temperatures dipping close to freezing in England, conditions he has rarely had to deal with, growing up in Pretoria with Arcadia and University of Pretoria.

But he may be warmed on his landing in London by the simultaneous arrival of Bafana Bafana team-mate Steven Pienaar. Out of contract at Everton in the summer, Pienaar is being consistently linked to a cut-price £2m move to join the Redknapp revolution when the January transfer window opens.

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter)? Read today's Natal Mercury or Star in Johannesburg or see www.nealcollins.co.uk.

January Transfer Window Special: West Ham reject Benni McCarthy Set For Celtic Escape

South Africa’s top scorer Benni McCarthy has been offered a way out of his West Ham nightmare – by Celtic boss Neil Lennon.

Yesterday’s Glasgow Evening Times splashed with the story that McCarthy, 33, is being targeted for a move in the January transfer window by the legendary Bhoys, not to be confused with South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtic, though both sides wear the traditional green-and-white hoops.

Celtic boss Lennon is “well aware of McCarthy’s availability” after his efforts to sign Spurs midfielder Niko Kranjcar broke down.

McCarthy would jump at the chance of playing at a packed Parkhead after a season of misery, diets and cushions with the rock-bottom Hammers in the Premier League.

McCarthy, signed from Blackburn for £2.5m by Gianfranco Zola in the last January transfer window, suffered a knee injury in his opening game for West Ham in February. Then his weight ballooned and the Cape Town-born striker missed out on selection for Bafana Bafana’s World Cup squad on home soil.

He returned to a series of lurid stories about his weight in the British press and was fined two weeks' wages by new club owner David Sullivan, who said: “I have a better Body Mass Index. And I’m 60.”

McCarthy worked hard to reduce his weight and has returned to the squad under new boss Avram Grant, but rarely makes an appearance ahead of Carlton Cole and a host of under-performing strikers. When he did turn out for West Ham last month, one British journalist described him as being “rusty” and looking like “something out of Acorn Antiques”.

Lennon is weighing up whether to take McCarthy on a loan deal until the end of the season or sign him permanently.

With Gary Hooper still missing for at least another month through injury, Lennon desperately needs a proven goalscorer - and McCarthy’s goals-per-game record would suggest he would thrive in the SPL, which is traditionally dominated by Celtic and arch-rivals Rangers. He has scored a record 31 goals in 79 games for Bafana Bafana and hit 37 in 109 at Blackburn. But his 34 in 74 games for Jose Mourinho's European Champions Porto really put him on the map. Mind you, that was back in 2003-2006.

Given the club’s Roman Catholic roots, even McCarthy’s surname fits the bill! His deal at West Ham runs until 2012 but with just six substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, his departure will not be a surprise.

Lennon is losing interest in 26-year-old Croatian Kranjcar, who is out of favour at Spurs over the £6m price tag. McCarthy would be available for about a third of that.

McCarthy’s age will not be a problem. Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, 32, and former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg, 33, are both training with the squad pending deals.

Lennon, who himself signed a 12-month contract in the summer, said: "I think it's fair to say we are dealing in the short term but that's not to protect me.

"I'm doing what I can to get players who can win the championship for the club. It's a big year for us.

"I've brought in the likes of Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley and Efrain Juarez to look after the club's development in the next few years.

"But I also want a couple of kings in the team who can talk others through the games at times."

Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premier, a point clear of Rangers – but their Protestant arch-rivals have two games in hand before the traditional Old Firm derby between the two sides at Ibrox on Sunday. Third placed side Hearts are five points adrift of the Glaswegian duo.

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter)? See www.nealcollins.co.uk.

Transfer Window Special: Spurs Grab Pienaar From Everton With £2m New Year Bid

Tottenham will snap up unsettled South African star Steven Pienaar for a mere £2m next week – finally giving the 28-year-old a regular crack at Champions League football.

After months of contract negotiations, Pienaar is allowing his deal to run out at the end of the season – and will be available on the cheap when the January transfer window opens.

Despite interest from Manchester United, neighbours Liverpool, European champions Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy believes he has the deal all wrapped up, though he could have waited until the end of the season when Pienaar would be available for free.

The Daily Mirror in London quotes a Spurs source as saying: “Levy is certain he will sign Pienaar and it's just a matter of putting the squeeze on Everton to sell him in January rather than wait until the summer.

“Harry Redknapp thinks it will be a great bit of business – he says Pienaar is an intelligent midfielder who will slot straight into his squad, can play in a number of positions and provide competition for places.”

Everton may then sign Tottenham’s out-of-favour Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar. Everton boss David Moyes, clearly exhausted by the constant questions over Pienaar’s future, says only: “I would love Steven Pienaar to stay, but I am already resigned to losing him at the end of the season.”

Pienaar’s arrival at White Hart Lane would coincide with that of compatriot Bongani Khumalo, the Supersports United captain who signed a pre-contract agreement two months ago. Like Lucas Radebe and Philemon Masinga at Leeds in the 1990s, the idea of having two South Africans on board is seen as a significant factor in helping both players settle.

Spurs are well aware of the problems they had with their last South African, Mbulelo “OJ” Mabizela. He scored a beauty on his debut but played only seven games in two seasons in North London before returning home with “addiction problems”. Spurs officials believe Pienaar’s experience would be beneficial to Khumalo if he battles with homesickness.

Asked if he would be at Goodison Park for the rest of the season, Pienaar himself issued a terse: “No comment” but added: “The season is not over yet, so anything can happen. In football anything can happen, it can change tomorrow, today, no-one knows.”

Former Ajax midfielder Pienaar joined Everton from Borussia Dortmund for £2million in the summer of 2007. He was born in Westbury near Johannesburg and has won 55 caps for South Africa. Though many reports have highlighted the financial aspect of any move – he was apparently offered £65,000-a-week to become one of Everton’s highest-paid players – sources close to Pienaar insist the player himself simply wants to make a move to a club with regular Champions League ambitions.

Everton last qualified for the Champions League when they finished fourth, above arch-rivals Liverpool, in 2005. Pienaar recently called for Everton to spend on fresh talent, saying: “The only problem, like everyone seems to know, is the money issue - we need more players.”

Big Match Preview: Chelsea Under New Pressure As Arsenal Vow Vengeance.

CHELSEA’S desperate bid to get out of the red is putting further pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti as the champions prepare to face Arsenal today hoping for their first win in five Premier League matches.

The big freeze has taken hold in England this December but Ancelotti faces a spending freeze implemented by hatchetman Ron Gourlay, the man who foolishly axed assistant manager Ray Wilkins six weeks ago.

Roman Abramovich’s billions have bankrolled the Stamford Bridge club for seven years. They won the double last year but will still announce a loss of around £44m. In 2005 they announced a record deficit of £140.5 and losses since Abramovich took over amount to more than £500m.

But under new UEFA rules cooked up by president Michel Platini, a club is only allowed to make a maximum loss of around £38m over the two years before the 2013-2014 season, or they will be banned from playing the Champions League.

Abramovich’s cost-cutter Gourlay believes his carefully negotiated eight-year kit deal with adidas - worth £30m a year – could see the club survive within those parameters – if they curb spending. Manchester City, backed by Abu Dhabi Sheik Mansour’s oil money, are in a similar position.

But Ancelotti, who has seen his side slump from runaway leaders to mere contenders since the Wilkins sacking, is under pressure to bring in reinforcements during the January transfer window, with captain John Terry insisting the squad is not as strong as it was last year when they won the double.

Gourlay can take the credit for that – he refused to renew the contracts of Joe Cole and Michael Ballack and cut win bonuses. And he let centre-back Ricardo Carvalho join his old boss Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid for a cut-price £6m.

Manchester United, Manchester City, Spurs and Arsenal are all reported to be ready to spend in the New Year. United want Atletico Madrid’s £12m David de Gea and/or Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina for £18m, City are after Wolfsburg’s £33m striker Edin Dzeko and Arsene Wenger may make a £10m move for Bolton centre-back Gary Cahill. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is ready to bid for Everton’s Steve Pienaar, who will be available for a cut-price £3m as he is out of contract in the summer.

Rumours that Chelsea would end Carlos Tevez’s unhappiness at City or Fernando Torres’s depressing season at Liverpool now look highly unlikely. Both would cost around £40m while another Ancelotti target, David Luiz, would ruin Gourlay’s economic plan, costing £20m. A potential £15m move for Anderlecht’s Romelu Lukaka is unlikely to happen either, unless Joe Cole is sold to Mourinho’s Real.

All this will be worrying Ancelotti as he prepares for the Emirates today with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger insisting his side MUST gain revenge of the woeful 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in October.

Beaten 1-0 by Manchester United last time out, a result which knocked them off the top of the Premier League, Wenger said: "Of course this is a must-win game. We are confident over taking Chelsea on at home. But it’s a big challenge. We need an intelligent game full of dynamism. That is the only way we can win these big games.

“We have mixed feelings because we came out of both games against Chelsea and Man United this season thinking we could have won and that there wasn't a difference between the teams.

"We are a very young side. It's about how well we respond to what happened to us at Chelsea and Man United that will be the decider for our season.”

Wenger added: "Chelsea have gone through a period where results are a bit less good but that can happen to anyone in this league. We have seen recently that any team, when you think they are on the brink of breaking through, can have a hiccup. Maybe it's just the quality of the league.

"You never know whether it's the best time to play Chelsea. But have a little bit less confidence than they had in October. We want to put a top-level performance in at the Emirates and show we are masters at home."

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter)? See www.nealcollins.co.uk. Happy Holidays.

Happy XMas To All From Manchester City's Roberto Mancini. Unless You're Mario Balotelli. Ho, Ho, Oh!

Ah, Christmas. A time for good cheer, peace to all men (and women, I guess), and the birth of the tiny baby Commercialism. And then along comes Scrooge, in the form of Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini.

Here’s his festive gift for City’s expensive Italian striker Mario Balotelli after a distinctly average display in Monday’s shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Everton.

"If Mario deserves to play he will play. If he doesn't deserve to play he doesn't play. If Mario doesn't work, he doesn't play.

"It's not important Mario has a good technique and is a good player. If we want to improve we need everybody giving 200 per cent.

"Mario is a special player but you have to put strength and heart into your performances."

Poor old super Mario. He left Inter Milan under a bit of a cloud. His Ghanaian parents claim he was snatched away from them, given a new surname and now their beloved 20-year-old never contacts them. The San Siro fans gave him a right pelting. Italian fans resent their first black international. The £24m move to Eastlands was supposed to be his salvation.

Now, with Carlos Tevez apparently forgiving and forgetting his much-hyped transfer request, Balotelli finds himself armed on with a cushion as he heads for Newcastle’s St James’s Park on Boxing Day. A place on the bench is the best he can hope for.

But hold on. When Tevez was sulking and arguing with Mancini, it was Balotelli who took the strain. He’s got five goals in nine games so far. While Brazilian misfit Jo and former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor look anything but devoted to the cause, Balotelli has taken a red card and a lot of flak trying to keep Sheikh Mansour’s overpaid mercenaries up among the contenders.

Mancini, a scarf-wearing paragon of fashion who probably suggested the snood neck-warmer to his players when winter set in, adds: "Mario must improve his situation and smile. I do not know why he does not look happy. Manchester is not like Milan but he has to accept it."

Hold on, hold on. Does Milan have a Piccadilly Christmas Fair? A Spinningsfields Ice Rink? A fireworks display on New Year’s night? Hah!

What’s Mancini saying? He first came across Balotelli at Inter. Did he bring him to a barren British northern metropolis without deep thought? Snow joke you know. Mancini insists: "I do have a good relationship with Mario but he must play well, must work hard every day, like the other players."

So Patrick Vieira’s working hard is he? And Gareth Barry, James Milner, Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips? They’re all happy? Craig Bellamy decamped to Cardiff because he was ecstatic? Yaya Toure drove off at half-time during the defeat against Arsenal because he was loving every moment?

The expensively assembled glut of galacticos don’t click like clockwork, let’s face it. How about Tevez? Any sign of a word with the fans after his transfer request saga, Roberto?

Mancini mumbles: "I don't know. Maybe he should apologise. It is now important Carlos plays well and scores goals. But the fans still love him."

Ho, ho, ho Mr Mancini. The second half of Manchester City’s season will be a fascinating rollercoaster ride. And somehow, I can’t see the dapper little Italian surviving until the summer.

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on Twitter)? See www.nealcollins.co.uk. And a Merry Christmas to you all. Good night.

Forget Benitez and The Transfer Window: Manchester United are about to be rescued from the Glazers by Qatar

As Rafa Benitez left Inter Milan yesterday and a thousand stars prepare to leap through the chilly January transfer window, only one dramatic football story really matters. Manchester United are about to be sold.

Hobbled by the Glazer family for six years, the most popular club in the world will finally have the cash injection necessary to keep them ahead of Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour’s Manchester City – thanks to the Qatari Royal Family.

Though Benitez will grab the headlines after his six-month reign at the San Siro came to an end, these words from Old Trafford non-executive director Mike Edelson really set the heart pounding: "It's no secret that, at some time, the Glazer family will sell."

That opens the door for Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and the Qatari Royal Family. Mindful of FIFA’s unbelievable decision to grant them the 2022 World Cup, they now want to buy United to give themselves some credibility. But it comes with a price tag of £1.5billion.

The Glazers, watchmakers turned sporting leeches, have saddled United with a £752m debt since buying the club for £790million in 2005. Now, unbelievably, they stand to double their money.

Rumours of a sale began last week when the gloomy Glazers, hampered by huge interest payments when they mortgaged Old Trafford to buy the club, somehow managed to pay off £252m of their debt. Under pressure from the Red Knights group and supporters who now wear the traditional green and gold of the original club Newton Heath, the Glazers appear to have got the message. City sources, quoted in today’s Sun newspaper, said: "The belief is that they have already brought in extra finance from a third party in a bid to set the club up for a sale."

Edelson’s quote, which stunned the audience in a question and answer session at the Maccabi Sports Club in Prestwich on Tuesday, appears to seal the deal. Edelson has been Glazer’s mouthpiece since their controversial take-over nearly six years ago.

Qatar Holdings, which is just a sporting front for the oil-rich royal family, are now on the verge of owning the world’s biggest club. The price tag should be no problem. They are worth £40BILLION and earlier this month became Barcelona’s first ever shirt sponsors for a cool £125m. A source in Qatar said: "Qatar Holdings have made tentative moves for United before with little success but this time it looks like they could be going for it.

"Now they have landed the 2022 World Cup, the country wants to expand its influence in the game across the globe."

Sir Alex Ferguson, having sold Cristiano Ronaldo for a record £80m to Real Madrid a season and a half ago, may now, finally, have the money to make his table-topping troops happy. Even Wayne Rooney.

And the “Green and Gold until the club’s been sold” brigade can now finally return to Red Devil’s colours – though the club will soon be firmly out of the red.

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on twitter)? Listen online to 702.com tomorrow morning and see www.nealcollins.co.uk.

Carlos Tevez Is In Love With Manchester City All Over Again, But Everton Cash in

Well who’d have guessed it? Just like Wayne Rooney before him, Carlos Tevez last night withdrew his highly-publicised transfer request just before Manchester City’s shock 2-1 defeat at Everton.

City’s feisty top scorer – who so nearly scored a dramatic equaliser only to be denied by the superb American Tim Howard at Goodison Park (right) - made his u-turn after frantic behind-the-scenes consultations following the 26-year-old Argentine’s dramatic decision to leave Eastlands just two weeks ago.

Consultations? Sorry, I meant cheques. But today’s statement produced by City’s board said: "Carlos and the club are keen to focus on the opportunities ahead and his contract remains unchanged.”

Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney were saying similar things at Old Trafford a couple of months ago. Water under the bridge, sweep it under the carpet. Only at City, with Sheik Mansour’s Abu Dhabi billions to fall back on, this one was inevitable.

City boss Roberto Mancini, considered far more expendable than Tevez among the football-speaking cognoscenti, added: "Carlos is a world-class player whose contribution since he joined the club has been invaluable.

"I am pleased that we are now able to focus on pure football matters and to be able to look forward to Carlos continuing to play a significant role in the club's progress."

Phew! Panic over then. Was it just 18 months ago when Tevez became the Premier League’s best-paid player, leaving United amid posters proclaiming “Welcome to Manchester”?

The goals were instant. The man who saved West Ham and bolstered United has no problem on the field. He scored 29 goals in his first season at City but failed to save boss Mark Hughes. He’s scored 10 times in 18 appearances so far this term but still got stuck in to boss Mancini when he was pulled off after scoring the only goal against stubborn Bolton.

Initially, when that transfer request went in on 12 December, he said he was missing his daughters back in Argentina. He said his relationship with "certain executives" at City had "broken down beyond repair".

But when he was given time off to visit his estranged wife Vanessa, curiously he travelled to Tenerife with the girlfriend. Yes, the lass he was seeing when the missus was pregnant with his second child.

Incredibly, the rift with city (if not his wife and children) is miraculously healed. And he’s got the captain’s armband back as City, level on points with second-placed Arsenal despite last night’s defeat, bid to end years of United dominance, armed only with oil-soaked billions from Abu Dhabi.

Could it be that Tevez is now being paid more than their newly crowned top-earner Yaya Toure, lured by a wage packed of £220,000-a-week to leave Barcelona? Surely not, the contract remains unchanged, say City. Is it really only about money? Surely not. Tevez is a badge-kissing, hard-running Argentina from the Fuerte Apache. Tough as nails those guys are. They sneer at bank managers and city slickers. But his agent Kia Joorabchian, the Iranian-born schemer who stepped in to buy his registration when Tevez was at Corinthians in Brazil, enjoys the odd cheque, or so I believe.

Money? The root of all evil. And the root of all excuses. Missing his daughters? Angry with Mancini? Broken-down relationships? If the price is right, all will be well. Just ask Wayne Rooney. Kiss that badge Carlos, we know you mean it!

Who the hell is Neal Collins (nealcol on twitter?). See www.nealcollins.co.uk.