Tottenham's last-ditch attempt to sign Eidur Gudjohnsen on loan has reignited the bad blood between themselves and West Ham from last January's transfer window.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp tried to sign Craig Bellamy a year ago but Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury vowed never to sell players to his club's "local rivals", with the Wales forward joining Manchester City. New co-owner David Sullivan has reacted angrily to Spurs making a late move to take Gudjohnsen from Monaco, after the Iceland international had undergone a medical and looked set to join Gianfranco Zola's squad.
Sullivan said: "We thought we had a deal and the player had even had a medical. We then heard that Tottenham were trying to speak to the player. I can't say I am happy about it but I believe in Karma and what goes around, comes around."
West Ham are prioritising strikers and are poised to sign Benni McCarthy from Blackburn for £2.5million, with Manchester City striker Benjani Mwaruwari also on their radar.
Spurs already have four strikers in Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Robbie Keane and Roman Pavlyuchenko but the latter of the quartet wants to move from White Hart Lane and Gudjohnsen could also be deployed in a deeper role.
Redknapp revealed his interest in Gudjohnsen straight after the win over Fulham on Tuesday that keeps Spurs in the Barclays Premier League top four.
The Spurs boss is also looking for a reserve goalkeeper and the search could intensify following a shoulder injury to Heurelho Gomes, who is yet to have his problem fully assessed.
Redknapp has also allowed Giovani dos Santos to join Turkish giants Galatasaray on loan for the rest of the season and has previously insisted he would not stand in the way of a short-term return to Portsmouth for Jamie O'Hara.
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