And this weeks Bargain Hunt is LIVE! from South Africa…

Yes you did read the title right. As the FIFA Confederations Cup ended last night with the slightly predictable win of Brazil in a decidedly unpredictable tournament, you could have bet your bottom dollar that Harry Redknapp enjoyed the tournament immensely. Never one to shy away from a bargain, Redknapp will have enjoyed watching the talent on display, especially as many of the better players are valued well in Tottenham’s price range.

Anyhow, this article was meant to have been wrote in true “Bargain Hunt” style so, without further ado, here’s David Dickinson!

Well hello there and welcome to this very special, football-based edition of bargain hunt! We’re in South Africa for today’s show and a multitude of talent has been displayed at this years Confederations Cup, and if you look closely, you’re sure to find a bargain as cheap as chips! So lets meet our first contestant- Mr Harry Redknapp!

Harry Redknapp, from East End London, is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur FC. Tottenham haven’t got the best of records when it comes to finding the old bargains- signing players like Helder Postiga, Darren Bent and Sergei Rebrov left them out of pocket and out of goals. ‘Arry’s not averse to the odd bargain though, signing players like Nwankwo Kanu, Niko Kranjcar and Peter Crouch (twice)- who all proved to be big successes. At Tottenham, Harry has money to spend and has the full backing of the board. In this special edition of “Bargain Hunt”, 3 players likely to be picked out by Redknapp will be reviewed, before we take a look at the bonus player.

PICK 1.

ESSAM EL-HADARY

WHO IS HE? El-Hadary was the first choice Egyptian goalkeeper who played in all of Egypt’s group games. He is also the captain of the Egyptian national team. El-Hadary plays for FC Sion, the Swiss team, and has played 87 times for his country.

WHY SHOULD HARRY BUY HIM? El-Hadary made some of the best saves of the tournament, and made some amazing reaction saves. He would also provide some much needed cover for the unpredictable Heurelho Gomes and the (apparently) outward-bound Carlo Cudicini.

ANY PROBLEMS? There is one major problem about signing El-Hadary: he’s 36. Thus, he’s probably only got another year or two in him. He’s also rather eccentric, a bit like Gomes, and he would probably take some time to win the fans around.

WOULD HE JOIN? Probably. Joining Tottenham from FC Sion would be a big step up, in competition and in wages, but El-Hadary might want to stay put in Switzerland on account of his age. Sion wouldn’t want that much though, they probably wouldn’t want anything over £500k.

PICK 2.

MATTHEW BOOTH.

WHO IS HE? South Africa’s large centre back, Booth was one of only two impressive South Africa performers, the other being Everton’s Steven Pienaar. Booth is the captain of South African club side Mamelodi Sundowns.

WHY SHOULD HARRY BUY HIM? The centre back put in some very solid displays for South Africa and is well respected in his home country for his solid club performances. The centre back position is a weak link for Spurs- if both Woodgate and King get injured it’s hard to see us pushing into the top five with only Michael Dawson as cover. Booth could shore up our defensive cover.

ANY PROBLEMS? He might be captain and star player of his club side, but the English Premier League would be a massive step up. Would he be able to cope?

WOULD HE JOIN? Almost certainly. At 32, Booth knows that he would probably never get another chance of making it big in Europe. His club side would probably want something in the region of £500k for their defender.

PICK 3

CLINT DEMPSEY

WHO IS HE? Currently playing his trade for Premiership rivals Fulham, Dempsey is an American midfielder/striker, who used to play his club football for New England Revelution. He is 26 years old.

WHY SHOULD HARRY BUY HIM? Dempsey played very well in the Confederations Cup, winning the bronze player of the tournament award. Dempsey is a proven Premiership performer and could play either alongside, or off, Keane or Defoe.

ANY PROBLEMS? Fulham wouldn’t want to let him go. And would he want to sacrifice UEFA Cup football?

WOULD HE JOIN? Maybe. But Fulham would want £8 million plus, and might even want a Spurs player in exchange.

BONUS PICK

LUIS FABIANO

WHO IS HE? The 28 year old Brazilian striker hasn’t had the easiest of times recently. Before the Confederations Cup many fans doubted whether he was good enough to play for Brazil but he managed to silence his critics by winning the tournament’s golden boot. He plays for Spanish side Seville.

WHY SHOULD HARRY BUY HIM? Luis Fabiano is a proven goalscorer and has played at the top level. At 28, Seville might be willing to cash in on the striker and Harry could pounce. After all, it’s no secret that Harry wants to get rid of either Bent and/or Pavlyuchenko for a new striker.

ANY PROBLEMS? Luis Fabiano can be quite a tempermental player, who has a blinder one day and a stinker the next. Is it wise to risk a lot of money on a player who isn’t guarenteed to deliver?

WOULD HE JOIN? He might, but he has just signed a new contract with Seville which runs to 2011. Seville would probably want between £12 to £18 million for their striker.

So there you have it.

Four players and four potential bargains. But which ones will prove to be Bobby Dazzler’s- if any? In all probability, it’s unlikely Harry will plump for any of the above players, but you can bet he’ll sniff out some bargains; watch this space!