Redknapp eyes Samba swoop

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has refused to rule out making a bid for Blackburn Rovers defender Christopher Samba.

The Rovers skipper has been linked with a move away from Ewood Park in the January transfer window, with QPR reportedly having a five-million-pound offer rejected on Friday.

With reports now suggesting the centre-back, who signed a new long-term deal last year, could hand in a transfer request for the second time in 12 months, Redknapp has revealed he could look to bring in the 27-year-old.

“I like Samba, he is a good player. I wouldn’t want to say it’s an impossibility,” Redknapp said.

“At the moment he belongs to Blackburn but he’s a good player.”

However, Blackburn boss Steve Kean insisted after his side’s FA Cup defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday that his captain would not be leaving the club.

“The situation with Chris is simple – he’s not for sale,” Kean said.

“He is seven or eight months into a five-year contract. He is certainly a defender that we feel has got a presence in both boxes.”

“He has held us together at a time when other defenders are out injured and he is a big part of what we are going to try to do in the future so we certainly want to keep him.”