Ramos planning raid on Spurs for Zokora

Former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos is planning to take midfielder Didier Zokora from White Hart Lane to Real Madrid.

Ramos is already working on how to strengthen his squad in January following his shock appointment as Real's new boss yesterday after the sacking of Bernd Schuster.

And the 54-year-old, who was fired by Spurs only six weeks ago, could infuriate the club even further by planning to beat them to the signature of Andrei Arshavin, a long-term target at White Hart Lane. Spurs spent all summer negotiating with Zenit St Petersburg for Arshavin's services only for talks to stall over the price.

They hadn't given up hope of resurrecting the deal next year but the Russian playmaker has revealed a move to the Bernabeu is already being discussed.

He said: "I can confirm that officials from Zenit have begun preliminary negotiations with Real Madrid about my transfer.

"At the moment, there is nothing concrete on the table for me.

"Also, there is contact with other Spanish clubs, as well as Italian and English ones."

Ramos, who agreed a contract until the end of the season with Real, added: "He [Arshavin] is a magnificent player and I know him well because at Tottenham we had some options to buy him."

The Spaniard is also desperate to find a midfielder to replace the influential Mahamadou Diarra, who has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

Ramos has set his sights on making a move for Ivory Coast international Zokora - who signed for Spurs from St Etienne in an £8million deal in 2006 - after admitting he was the player that impressed him most during his year in charge at Tottenham.