Spurs on alert as £10m Van der Vaart is warned: Leave Real or miss World Cup

24 September 2009 16:12
Harry Redknapp is weighing up a January move for Real Madrid outcast Rafael van der Vaart. The 26-year-old could be forced to look for a new team after being warned he will not play at next summer's World Cup unless he gets regular first-team football. Van der Vaart has played just 15 minutes of competitive football so far this season, leading Holland boss Bert van Marwijk to leave out his vice-captain for the friendly with Australia in Sydney on October 10. Tottenham Hotspur and Everton were both linked with the former Hamburg midfielder during the summer, when the player was initially not given a squad number by Madrid. Despite the U-turn by the La Liga giants, he has still barely figured in Manuel Pellegrini's Bernabeu plans and will once again be a £10million target when the transfer window opens again in January. Van der Vaart has already ruled out a return to Holland or former club Hamburg, and would prefer to play in England, Italy or Spain. His future has been complicated by his wife Sylvie needing continuing treatment for breast cancer.

Source: Daily_Mail