Sheringham set to stay with Spurs

Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham looks set to be the oldest outfield player in the Premiership next season with a new one-year extension of his contract at White Hart Lane.

Spurs will not confirm that the England man, who turns 37 on April 2, is about to sign a new deal to replace the one that runs out in June.

Manager Glenn Hoddle insists that contract negotiations are strictly private matters but it is understood that terms have been agreed for Sheringham to stay at the club for one more season in what is his second spell there since returning to north London from Manchester United at the start of last season.

Although Hoddle has refused to comment on recent speculation over the former Millwall and Nottingham Forest star, he suggested at the start of the current campaign that Sheringham was looking sharp enough to earn a new deal.

He has justified that faith with 26 appearances and eight goals so far this term.

And Hoddle who has sold fellow veteran Les Ferdinand to West Ham and off-loaded misfit striker Sergei Rebrov to Turkey’s Fenerbache after bringing in Robbie Keane from Leeds, believes there is still room for Sheringham’s guile and experience even if long-term target Fernado Morientes, the Real Madrid and Spain ace, is also signed this summer.

The manager reasons Spurs will need all of them if they qualify for the UEFA Cup via a position in the Premiership’s top six.

But he is having to move quickly to secure Sheringham for another season as the player will be legally entitled to a free transfer immediately unless offered a new deal by the end of this month.

Spurs’ ambitions to recruit additional firepower has already been confirmed by their bid to sign another veteran striker, Middlesbrough’s Alen Boksic, although it is highly unlikely they would have agreed to match the mammoth £62,000 (€94,000) a week he is reported to earn at The Riverside.