Rafael van der Vaart
Van der Vaart is hoping to be fit as Tottenham prepare to face Arsenal. REUTERS

Manchester United remain tight-lipped in the lead up to January deadline day, with the club being connected to a possible deal for yet another playmaker, in the form of Rafael van der Vaart.

Transfer blogs such as Caughtoffside had been speculating that van der Vaart might be the perfect player for Sir Alex Ferguson to purchase this month, but Tottenham came out to refute the rumours, insisting that any talks of a deal are not currently taking place.

"Really? That's news to me," Talksport reported Tottenham assistant manager Kevin Bond as saying, when he was queried on the possibility of van der Vaart moving to United.

Manchester United have been particularly quiet about transfer targets this month, and while Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he harbours 'two or three' long term targets, the manager insists that no playmakers are currently on the club's agenda for this month.

The Red Devils have been heavily connected to Wesley Sneijder, and also Mario Gotze and Christian Eriksen, but each of the three have claimed that they are happy at their respective clubs and hope to continue in their current homes until next June at least.

Last summer United were particularly strongly linked with a move for Sneijder, and though reports speculated the deal could go down to the wire on deadline day, Ferguson stayed true to his word that he wouldn't replace the retired Paul Scholes with a big money buy and the window passed without the side making a move for the Dutchman.

And the same fate would appear likely for the club this month as well, with Ferguson refusing to make a reactionary purchase to push for top spot in the Premier League table.

While Ferguson was linked with van der Vaart last summer by numerous sources, including the Telegraph, the 28 year old has pledged his future to Spurs on numerous occasions, telling the People last November: "Harry has made me feel at home.

"I've lived in Amsterdam, Hamburg, Madrid and now London during my career - so I've been in the best cities. But London is good and the schools are great for my son Damian...so there is no reason to leave."

And with Tottenham's current standing in the table, pushing United and City for top spot and looking very likely to qualify for Champions League if their form continues, a successful move by Ferguson for van der Vaart looks particularly unlikely.

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