Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers

Tottenham fan Daniel Grigg casts his eye over the men who could possibly replace Harry Redknapp in the summer if necessary.

With Harry Redknapp reaching 65 in the next month and the departure of Fabio Capello looming ever nearer, you just can’t help starting to consider who on earth might be able to come in and adequately replace the current Tottenham boss if necessary. What will life be like at White Hart Lane after the Redknapp era?

The number one choice for me was always Carlo Ancelotti while he remained out of work, but his recent move to mega-rich PSG means that isn’t going to happen now.

So it got me thinking, what about Swansea City’s Brendan Rodgers? Just 39 years old, he is doing a fantastic job earning tangible success with a low-budget side, in addition to getting them playing stylish football with a confidence to take on all- comers.

Swansea were so deserving of their victory over Arsenal that even Arsene Wenger couldn’t bemoan it, and they only missed out on victory over Chelsea last week because of a deflected stoppage- time equaliser.

City have also earned draws with both Liverpool and Spurs, and were definitely the better side against Tottenham on New Year’s Eve.

Swansea have rapidly become one of those teams you prefer to avoid. They’re a side built on a base of smart possession football, strong defensive play (including the Tottenham loanee Steven Caulker) and some quick and creative wingers at the sharp end of the field. Sound familiar?

Unlike David Moyes for example, Rodgers’ teams are already set up with a very similar philosophy to what Spurs fans already favour and expect – and that philosophy is much more suited to the preferences, talents and natural instincts of most of the current players.

Would the likes of Gareth Bale or Luka Modric really feel like hanging around under a cautious, defensively-minded manager? I doubt it.

Rodgers’ character also suggests that he could make his mark at a top club. He’s used to working with very talented players at Swansea and Chelsea, and is used to getting plenty out of them. He’s not afraid of individual talent in the way that a number of managers undoubtedly are.

He’s authoritative and decisive, yet pretty affable, contemplative and measured after a match. Crucially too, he’s not a man to be put off by defeat or failure - nor made to alter his principles through desperation.

There’s also his impressive recent track record in the transfer market to consider, having spotted players like Michel Vorm and Gylfi Sigurdsson this season.

These are intelligent signings, the sort that Spurs have built much of their major success upon in recent years. Bale and Kaboul were not overly expensive and Sandro, Michael Dawson, Kyle Walker and Aaron Lennon were fairly cheap as well, considering how important they all are now.

Moving on (but on a related note), this is my first column since the transfer window closed, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t exactly running up and down the street in celebration when Louis Saha signed - but it’s an underwhelming signing rather than a terrible one.

Saha’s arrival is not dissimilar to the loan deal for Eidur Gudjohnsen two years ago, and he turned out to be very useful in Spurs’ subsequent Champions League qualification.

This is a completely different scenario to Redknapp’s failure to sign a centre forward last January, when our need was altogether more desperate.

Given the possibility of spending £20million on Loic Remy or even £4m on Hugo Rodallega, I was actually pretty glad we kept the money in the bank and didn’t spend it out of desperation, or an inability to just sit still.

In Remy’s case, he may have scored twice for Marseille recently with Redknapp in attendance, but he has only struck nine times all season in Ligue 1. That is not so stunning for a striker who is playing in a league where Gervinho scored 15 times last season – another player who Spurs contemplated spending major cash on.

Bale has scored more than that in the Premier League this campaign, while being one of the creative hubs of the team, setting up a further eight goals and generally playing on the left side of midfield.

Large transfer fees really aren’t the things to judge progress on. It’s more important to spot the best talent, having the cash to buy it, managing to develop it and, most importantly, keeping holding of it when it’s really blossoming.