With Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp and his players focused firmly on Sunday's Carling Cup final, the most interested group at tonight's UEFA Cup tie against Shakhtar Donetsk will be the scouts of clubs planning their summer transfer moves.

As has become his habit in the competition, Redknapp will give first-team opportunities to a number of his younger players this evening, with youth-team stars Dean Parrett, John Bostock and Jon Obika all pushing for starting places.

The presence of these teenagers will excite the Spurs supporters but it will be the display of Redknapp's fringe players which will be of greater interest to those who work within the game.

Redknapp spent close to £50million during January in an attempt to keep Spurs up and, while he allowed the unwanted Cesar Sanchez, Hossam Ghaly and Kevin-Prince Boateng to leave the club, Spurs did not receive a fee for any of those players.

With Redknapp certain to be knocking on chairman Daniel Levy's door for transfer funds as soon as the season ends, the 61-year-old would do well to line up a few deals to recoup some of the money he has spent.

While nobody can accuse Levy of failing to back Redknapp, he is an owner who pays close attention to the club's balance sheet, especially as Spurs want to build a new stadium.

Giovani dos Santos is one of the players in tonight's starting XI who Redknapp is willing to offload during the summer.

The Mexican playmaker has failed to make an impact after arriving from Barcelona in a £4.75m deal last summer but, at 19, he still has many admirers in European football and a strong performance tonight would enhance his chances of a favourable summer move.

With Carlo Cudicini absent due to a knee injury, Heurelho Gomes returns in goal.

Redknapp is still understood to be undecided about Gomes and it would be no surprise to see the Brazilian return to Holland - he joined Spurs from PSV last summer - at the end of the campaign.

Redknapp sees promise in Chris Gunter, who is due to play at right-back, but believes the former Cardiff defender would benefit from a spell on loan away from White Hart Lane.

The long-term futures of left-back Gareth Bale and midfielder Tom Huddlestone, however, remain in doubt, with neither managing to nail down a place in the starting XI for Spurs' most important matches.

However, Redknapp does not seem to be overly concerned if Spurs are knocked out of the UEFA Cup, given other priorities this week and beyond.

He said: "Should I put out my best team and not worry about the Carling Cup final? No, I can't. English teams in this competition have had to rotate, mainly because of the Premier League.

"What if, at the end of the season, we had got to the last eight of the UEFA Cup but ended up being relegated? That is the problem.

"If we were in the top half of the Premier League, we would probably be having a go in this competition. But on the other hand, would we? You have to remember that we are in a cup final on Sunday.

"Just as it was when I won the FA Cup with Portsmouth, Sunday is about winning a trophy. I am not bothered about getting into Europe: I want to win a cup.

"This is what happens when you try to win every game and all the fixtures pile up. The UEFA Cup has tested the squad."

Wilson Palacios, who is cup-tied for the Carling Cup final, will ensure that Spurs compete in midfield against Shakhtar, while Jamie O'Hara, returning from a hip injury, is expected to be given an hour to stake his claim for a place against United.

If, as expected, Gunter misses out on the final, it will be a case of more Wembley heartache for the Welshman.

The defender left Cardiff, who went on to reach last season's FA Cup final, in January 2008, and also missed last year's Carling Cup final because he was cup-tied.

He said: "It was a shame the way it worked out last season but it was still good to go to Wembley with the rest of the Spurs team.

"I saw everything about the build-up, though. Games like those are the ones you want to be involved in."