da betobet： It began in Africa, or so we are told, and for many of Harry Redknapp’s sides in the past, this has been the case. It seems Redknapp has returned to the continent this week to purchase 23 year-old centre back Bongani Khumalo, but will the SuperSport player prove to be a dud, or another astute African acquisition for the Tottenham manager?
da bwin： Redknapp seemed to discover his penchant for signing African players at West Ham, where he made the high-profile purchases of Marc Vivien-Foe, Rigobert Song and Titi Camara. Perhaps with the exception of Vivien-Foe these players did not particularly shower themselves in glory, but this did not dissuade Redknapp at Portsmouth as he signed both Yakubu and Lomana Lua Lua in his first stint in charge of the south-coast club. Yakubu helped fire Pompey into the Premier League and between them, the player affectionately known as ‘the Yak’ and Lua Lua scored over 40 goals for Portsmouth.
On his return to the south-coast club in December 2005, Redknapp became more prolific in his African acquisitions, signing Benjani, Kanu, Lauren, Sulley Muntari and John Utaka amongst others, and formed a side which won the 2008 FA Cup from many of these African players. Utaka, Muntari, Kanu and Papa Bouba Diop were all present in the side that lifted the trophy, with Kanu scoring the winner, giving Pompey their first piece of noteworthy silverware in nearly 60 years.
Surprisingly, Redknapp has not continued this trend at Spurs, signing only French-born Cameroonian international Sébastien Bassong for the club. However, all this is about to change as Bongani Khumalo joins the club in January for £1.5m. But the question on Spurs fans lips is, is he going to be a Titi Camara, or a Sulley Muntari? All reports coming out of Africa seem to suggest the latter.
Bongani is a highly thought of and highly educated young player, impressing during the 2010 World Cup in his adopted home nation of South Africa (he was born in Swaziland) capping his performances with a goal against France in the last group game in Bloemfontein. This, combined with the relative youth of the player (23) seem to point towards an investment in Spurs’ future, as well as a player that can be utilised immediately as Tottenham seek to compete on two fronts after the turn of the year.
In looking to Africa, Redknapp seems to have once again unearthed a player with just the right mixture of athleticism and skill, and with a central defence prone to injury, Spurs may well have found a player to shore them up during 2011 and beyond.
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