Taiwo interested in Spurs switch
Nigerian defender Taye Taiwo has made it clear that he would be open to a move to Tottenham Hotspur, amid reports that the White Hart Lane club are interested in signing the full-back.
Taiwo struggled to find regular first team football at the Stade Velodrome towards the end of last season following the arrival of former Manchester United stopper Gabriel Heinze, who was coach Didier Deschamps' preferred choice in the second half of the 2009/10 campaign.
And the 25-year-old has revealed that merely being a substitute with the Ligue 1 champions is no longer an option for him and that he would be interested in putting pen to paper with Harry Redknapp's side, should Spurs make a move.
"If I stay in Marseille I want to play week in week out. I am a football player not someone to sit on the bench and get paid," he said.
"My ambition has always been to play at the top level. Spurs are a fantastic team in the best league."
The interest from Spurs has emerged after Marseille turned down a bid from Atletico Madrid for the Nigerian, and Taiwo has refused to rule out a move to the Spanish side.
The defender's current contract expires in 2012, but it now appears unlikely that he will see out the deal.
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"Atletico Madrid is a very good team as well in the Champions League, so I would be interested by those two teams.
"Marseille is my team at the moment and I have a contract with them, so let's wait and see. In the next two weeks things might move on."
Cameroon international Benoit Assou-Ekotto is currently Spurs' first-choice left-back ahead of Gareth Bale, who excelled for Tottenham towards the end of last season in a more advanced role, scoring against Arsenal and Chelsea to keep the club on course to seal fourth place.
Redknapp is on the lookout for new recruits to bolster his squad ahead of Spurs' debut appearance in the Champions League, with Joe Cole, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Luis Fabiano and Yannick Djalo all reportedly on his radar.
By Nick Poyser
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.