By John Edwards
Rafael van der Vaart looks to be heading out of White Hart Lane after Schalke launched a £10million-plus move for Tottenham’s attacking midfielder.
Sportsmail understands there has already been contact between Schalke and Van der Vaart’s representatives and that the 29-year old would welcome the prospect of a fresh start in the Bundesliga, for personal as well as professional reasons.
While he was frequently the one to make way whenever Tottenham made substitutions last season, he has been promised a pivotal role at Schalke, as the main playmaker at the heart of their midfield.
Away from the pitch, it would solve the problem of his wife Sylvie having to spend more than half of every week away from home. She works for German television station RTL and is based in Cologne, barely 100 km from Schalke’s ground.
Money is not a problem for Schalke, and they will have little difficulty at least matching the Holland midfielder’s Tottenham wages, as well as paying a fee in excess of £10m.
Asked about the likelihood of starting next season in Schalke colours, Van der Vaart maintained a diplomatic front, answering: ‘I don’t want to say anything at the moment, as all my focus is on the European Championships.’
But with talks apparently already underway, both parties are confident of concluding a deal which, with Luka Modric once more attracting strong interest from Manchester United, would force Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp to step up his search for attacking reinforcements.
