Tottenham have taken the mickey out of West Ham United's transfer ban on them.

The Daily Mail says the January issue of Spurs' official magazine recalls the biggest deal between the two clubs - Jermain Defoe's £7million switch five years ago - and its triumphalist tone won't have made for pleasant reading in east London.

Labelling the striker "one of our best mid-term captures", the magazine wrote: "It's 30 January 2004, and Hammers boss Alan Pardew is confident Defoe is staying at Upton Park: 'I think a move on the scale of Jermain cannot be done within two days,' he said.

"'I am pretty optimistic he will remain a West Ham player.' Two days later, we had our man."

Spurs also snapped up Michael Carrick for a bargain £2.75m that year and went on to sell him to Manchester United for £18.6m.

But now chief executive Scott Duxbury has cried enough, claiming London rivalry and fans' feelings must be taken into account.

Sources suggest the move may also win him fans' support ahead of renewed scrutiny of his position in the latest Carlos Tevez inquiry.