Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits he is unlikely to make a permanent move to sign David Beckham because he is unsure how long the LA Galaxy star will continue playing.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits he is unlikely to make a permanent move to sign David Beckham because he is unsure how long the LA Galaxy star will continue playing.
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Beckham has been training with Spurs this week while the Premier League club attempt to secure his signing on a three-month loan deal.
The 35-year-old is keen to keep match-fit during the MLS off-season, but his hopes of playing for Redknapp's side have so far been scuppered by Galaxy's demands over his return date to America and insurance issues.
That leaves former Manchester United midfielder Beckham consigned to the stands when his old club arrive at White Hart Lane for a crucial league game on Sunday.
Beckham's desire to get back in the England squad is behind his move to join Spurs, but Redknapp isn't sure the ex-Real Madrid star is keen to extend his career much longer.
"It gives us a chance to have a look at him while he's here but I wouldn't be saying to him 'Oh yeah, come here next year, David.' He might think it's time to call it a day. I don't know," Redknapp said.
"He'll know how he feels training with these lads every day and whether he feels he still has something to offer. He's not going to make a fool of himself, is he? He's too clever a guy.
"He's not going to go out there and try to play if he doesn't feel he's capable of playing. He's got no need to put himself in that position.
"As I said before it's not his last resort. He's not an old star whose washed up, got no money, and coming back to try and have one last go. He's a mega-rich boy who doesn't need to do it."
Redknapp still harbours faint hopes of getting Beckham into his team at some point in the next few weeks, but he acknowledges the mooted deal hasn't gone quite how he had hoped when it was first proposed.
"If he could have come to the end of the season it would have been great. I didn't know it was only going to be two months at best," Redknapp said.
"I thought when it was mentioned, I thought, yeah, to the end of the season, it would be good.
"Then, suddenly two months becomes a month, if you've got permission, by the time he's fit, just to throw him in for three or four games would be difficult."
Several of Beckham's former team-mates are still at United, but Redknapp won't be grilling the former England captain for information about the likes of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes ahead of Sunday's showdown.
"Someone said would I ask him about Man United but I wouldn't put him in that position. It wouldn't be fair," Redknapp said.
"I wouldn't expect him to get involved in any of that, he's got his best pals in the other dressing room like Ryan Giggs.
"He wouldn't put himself in that position and I wouldn't want to put him in that position.
"If he wants to come in our dressing room to see the boys and go in their dressing room to see theirs that wouldn't be a problem if he's there."
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