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Sherwood not afraid to sell

Sherwood is preparing for a clearout at White Hart Lane © PA Photos

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Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has admitted he is keen to trim down an inflated Spurs squad in the January transfer window, with a host of his players being linked with moves away from the club.

Summer signings Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue, along with German midfielder Lewis Holtby, are rumoured to be heading away from White Hart Lane this month, with Sherwood doing little to quell the speculation that departures are on his immediate agenda.

While most managers tend to spend this month talking about imminent arrivals, Sherwood admitted he is expecting some of his fringe World Cup hopefuls to be making their exit in the next fortnight.

When asked whether he would be willing to sanction transfers this month, Sherwood was assured in his response. "Absolutely," he said.

"As long as they are the right players and the ones I don't want to take us forward, then I am happy.

"You can only go with a certain amount of players and the pressure is on because it is a World Cup year for a lot of these players. They need to play and we can't guarantee they are going to get maximum game time.

"We are certainly not going to be leaving ourselves short and if no-one left, I wouldn't be shedding any tears over that either. We understand that there is pressure with the World Cup and they need to play.

"Sometimes, supply and demand is an issue. Especially with some of the guys I am still getting to know. I have a certain amount of trust in some players more than others, but the longer I am on the training ground, the more I get attached to the new players as well."

Sherwood did not deny that midfielder Capoue is one of the players who may be surplus to requirements at Tottenham, as he suggested youngster Nabil Bentaleb is ahead of him in the queue for a first team spot.

"All I can say as regard to Etienne Capoue is he hasn't given me one minute's problem here," said Sherwood.

"He realises I will use Nabil Bentaleb ahead of him. The same goes for Lewis Holtby. I knew the young boy and trusted him, so I went with him.

"Etienne has been asked to play in reserve games to keep up their fitness and did that no problem. There is no issue between us and the same goes for all the other players. While they are at the club, they are in my plans.

"Whether it is Etienne Capoue, Lewis Holtby or Nacer Chadli, if I feel they can help us win the next game, I will use them."

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