Rafael van der Vaart is unsettled at Tottenham.

The Sunday Mirror says the Dutchman played and scored in yesterday's win at Wigan, but only started ­because Jermain Defoe was taken ill before the game. Earlier he ­confided in international team-mates that he is fed up being overlooked by the manager.

More damaging though is a text message Van der Vaart sent to ­Holland team-mate Theo Janssen, who has found himself in a similar situation at Ajax.

Janssen said: "I was taken off in the Champions League against Olympique Lyon and I was really angry. The next moment I received a text ­message from Rafael, who said he was wondering if I happened to have the same contract as he has at Spurs.

"I asked him what kind of contract that was? He ­answered: 'One which states that you are only allowed to play 70 minutes in each match.'"

It was clearly a dig at Harry Redknapp. To add further fuel to the Milan fire Van der Vaart's beautiful wife, ­Sylvie, already appears to be preparing for life in Italy.

She has a good career as a TV ­presenter and actress on the ­continent. She was voted ­Germany's 'Media Woman of the Year' and is now planning to conquer Italy. To pave the way she has done a big photo shoot with one of Italy's most ­popular magazines.

Milan may prove a popular destination for both Van der Vaarts.