Tottenham ready to give Ledley King a cut-price contract

Simon Johnson
23 Oct 2009

Tottenham have opened contract talks with captain Ledley King but the defender may have to take a pay-cut to extend his stay at White Hart Lane.

The England international, whose current deal expires at the end of the season, has impressed manager Harry Redknapp with his performances, despite still being troubled by his knee injuries.

Standard Sport first revealed back in March that chairman Daniel Levy was eager to negotiate a new contract provided King could prove his fitness and the 29-year-old has done just that, having started six of Spurs' nine League games this season and played a big part in helping them climb to third in the table.

Spurs had previously considered offering a pay-as-you-play deal because of the serious nature of his injury problems, which prevent him from training regularly with the squad.

But that idea is believed to have been shelved, with the club now looking to offer King a one-year rolling contract, with the proviso his situation is reassessed at the end of each campaign.

However, the club are unwilling to continue to pay him his current salary of £60,000-a-week.

It is believed they are now prepared to offer around £20,000-a-week less and it is unclear whether King would accept such terms, although he has already insisted he wants to stay at the club for the rest of his career.

He may consider waiting until January, though, to see if any other clubs would be interested in his services, for he will be able to negotiate a pre-contract and leave on a free transfer in the summer.

Spurs are confident that they will be able to come to an agreement, however, and keep King, who has been at the club since he joined as a trainee in 1997.

Team-mate Jermain Jenas today urged the club to do everything they can to secure King's future.
He said: “When Ledley is fit, he is one of the best defenders in the world. How can you not miss him?

“You see the difference and you feel the difference when he is not playing. That is not just me saying that, because all our defenders respect him.

“All our other centre-halves have performed superbly when called upon, but taking Ledley out of a side is like taking Cristiano Ronaldo — or any of the best players in the world — out of a team. Any team would miss Ledley.

“Yes, he has picked up the odd niggle here and there, but things are a lot more positive for him now, in terms of playing games.

“Hopefully, he will stay at Spurs for a long time to come.”

Tottenham's home game against Stoke tomorrow will mark a year in the job for Redknapp, who has overseen a remarkable transformation at the club.

When he took over, Spurs were bottom of the table with only two points from eight games. This season, they have collected 19 points from their first nine matches to reach third place, three points behind leaders Manchester United and two adrift of Chelsea — the only two clubs to have beaten Redknapp's men this term.

“Over the last few seasons, it's been very comfortable for the top four,” continued Jenas, who has forced his way back into the
line-up after missing the start of the season with injury. “But now, they're starting to realise that when they play teams like us, they have to be on top of their game. The Champions League positions are exactly where we want to be.

“The top teams are more aware of us now, and see us as more of a danger.”