David Beckham will be an instant hit with Tottenham fans if the obstacles impeding the midfielder's move to White Hart Lane can be overcome and he finally seals a loan deal with the North London club, Harry Redknapp insists.
Negotiations between Tottenham and Beckham's parent club, Los Angeles Galaxy, were still far from completion on Friday night despite Redknapp being told by a club official that a deal was "going to happen" after almost a week of talks.
Redknapp was nevertheless in buoyant mood about the club's chances of signing Beckham and is confident that the fans will recognise his worth to the team, saying: "They will be pleased to have him here. Everyone respects him."
He added: "He wants to play football. Most players would sit around thinking 'that's OK, I've got eight weeks now to sit around the pool, go and have a game of golf, or whatever', but he wants to play.
"It tells you everything about him. That's why he's probably had such a great career. He's always worked hard. He always puts a shift in. He's a good trainer. You never hear anybody who ever played with him criticising him."
Beckham wants to move to England to prove to Three Lions manager Fabio Capello that he deserves a chance to add to his 115-cap tally after being overlooked by the Italian since the end of 2009.
Despite entering the twilight of his career, Redknapp is adamant Beckham's arrival would improve his squad and allayed fears about the 35-year-old's fitness.
Redknapp said: "He wouldn't come if he wasn't fit. Have you ever seen him looking fat? He's not a punchdrunk heavyweight champion coming back, who's washed up, skint and comes and has another fight and gets knocked out.
"He can deliver that ball," Redknapp added. "It isn't any good having Peter Crouch if you can't get the ball to him in the air.
"Beckham will go, I'm sure, "there you go, head that". Not all the time but he has the ability to do that. He will be a great asset I'm sure."
Source: PA
