Tottenham will face competition from Manchester United and Manchester City for released Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole.

The London Evening Standard says Spurs boss Harry Redknapp seemed to indicate that he was out of the running to be re-united with his former West Ham player when he indicated last month that Cole had already done a deal with another team, believed to be the Gunners.

But Redknapp, who is also bound to face strong opposition from both Manchester clubs for Cole's signature, muddied the waters further today when he told TalkSport: "I don't know. It's not impossible. I think that Daniel [Levy], the chairman, has spoken to Joe's agent and he said that Joe didn't want to discuss any moves until after the World Cup. Then he's going to look at his options.

"But he's told us that he hasn't decided anything yet and he hasn't done anything definite. So there's a chance. I suppose it all depends on the financial side of it and everything else, but according to his agent he's not made up his mind yet."