Front man set for exit

Tottenham frontman Rafael van der Vaart is wanted by both Schalke and his former club Hamburg and a deal could be in the pipeline.

New boss Andre Villas-Boas is apparently prepared to sanction a move for the Dutchman so he can use the money to subsidise his own team-building plans. The £8m signing from Real Madrid is reportedly one of the higher earners at the club and, with two years left on his present deal, he would still command a fee in the region of £11m so a sale would bring in some cash for the new boss to use in the market. AVB is thought to want to add two more forwards to his squad amid reports that he is going to change his system to a 4-3-3 and he is prepared to see some of the former stars of the club move on. One of those looks likely to be van der Vaart with Luka Modric also strongly linked with a move away with Real Madrid ready to offer £35m for his services.