Transfer Rumor: Manchester United to Lose £10m Priced Pair to Tottenham in January Transfer Window?

If rumors are to be believed, Tottenham Hotspurs boss Harry Redknapp is currently pursuing two of league rival Manchester United's most experienced players and is keen to bag them during the January transfer window, as he attempts to re-claim a spot in the top four of the Premier League and be awarded another shot at the Champions League group stage.

Redknapp has been praising 32-year-old Manchester United and England center-back Rio Ferdinand in recent times. Ferdinand has come in for quite a bit of criticism since the 6-1 thrashing, at Old Trafford, by local rivals Manchester City and has been dropped from the first team. A chance to return to London, with the assurance of first team football might be one worth taking for the defender.

Ferdinand's hopes of featuring in Man United's first team, at the moment, are very slim; team mates Johnny Evans of Northern Ireland and Nemanja Vidic of Serbia have been in good form. In addition, the duo of young Englishmen Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have also impressed thus far. A move to White Hart Lane may throw a lifeline to Ferdinand's career.

The Spurs boss also has vintage goal-machine Michael Owen in his sights. Owen recently signed a one year deal with Man United this summer, with hopes of making regular first team appearances. However, he has, so far, managed just one appearance (as a substitute).

Spurs' move for Owen, if true, could be because of the loss of two of their main strikers - Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch, both of whom left the club in the summer. Redknapp brought Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan, from Manchester City to the club to replace one of the two vacant positions. Redknapp is still looking to add fresh faces to the club's attacking line-up, after another striker, Russian RomanPavlyuchenko, suggesting he too may move on, following frustration at continued lack of opportunities.

It has been reported that although Spurs chairman Daniel Levy didn't give his manager the amount of transfer funds that the latter indicated was needed, he is aware of important it is to feature in Europe's biggest club competition and has agreed to spend in January.

Redknapp will be hoping that his good relationship with Man United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and a £10 million offer for Ferdinand and Owen may help in sealing the deal in January, according to a Caughtoffside report.

Rio Ferdinand, known for his composure on the ball in defensive positions, started his senior career with West Ham United before moving on to Leeds and finally settling with the Red Devils in 2002, in one of the most expensive transfers in the history of British football. He has made 246 appearances for Man United and scored six goals, the first of which came in Dec. 2005 in a game against Wigan Athletic.

Michael Owen, on the other hand, made his mark with Liverpool (118 goals in 216 games), before moving to Real Madrid in mid-2004 for £8 million. He returned to England to play for Newcastle United. He finally joined Manchester United in 2009 and was handed the number 7 shirt, vacated by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, David Beckham and George Best. Owen scored his first goal for United on his debut, scoring an 84^th minute winner after coming on as a substitute in a pre-season friendly against a Malaysian XI.