The 65-year-old had intended to negotiate a new three-year contract with Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy, with his current deal expiring next year, instead Redknapp was informed that his services were no longer required.

But ‘Arry, as he is affectionately known in the media, has no plans for to retire just yet.

“I love football. I would suit any job. I don’t think I am coming to the end of my career,” he told the BBC earlier today.

“Alex Ferguson is in his seventies and is still the best manager in the world. I am as fit as a fiddle.”

Spurs confirmed Redknapp’s departure in a statement on their website, in which the 65-year-old described his four years at the club as ‘fantastic.’

He said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spurs and am proud of my achievements.

“I have had a fantastic four years with the club, at times the football has been breathtaking.

“I am sad to be leaving but wish to thank the players, staff and fans for their terrific support during my time there.”

The move to fire the former West Ham and Portsmouth boss comes just a day after he had responded angrily to rumours of his sacking circulating on social media site Twitter.

“No, I haven’t resigned, and I have no idea why it is being suggested that I have resigned,” he told ESPN on Tuesday.

“This is an outrage; an absolute liberty for people to be putting around this kind of rumour on the internet. It is not true, there is not a chance I will resign. Why should I?”

Redknapp took over from Juande Ramos at the North London club in October 2008 when the team were four points adrift at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League, with just two points from eight games.

He guided Spurs to two fourth-placed finishes in his three full seasons in charge and also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2010/11, before losing to Real Madrid.

Redknapp, who was the overwhelming favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager for Euro 2012, left his position at Spurs late last night after a meeting with chairman Daniel Levy.

It is understood that the 65-year-old met Levy with the intentions of discussing a new contract at the club – his is set to expire at the end of next season – but within half an hour he had been told his services were no longer required.

There are no secrets in football and shortly before 10pm Talksport announced that Redknapp had left Spurs, signalling a tsunami of Twitter speculation on everything from his successor to Levy’s motivations.

David Moyes was almost instantly heralded as the front-runner to take over in North London by journalists and bookies alike, with Talksport’s Ian Abrahams claiming on Twitter it was already a done deal.

He said: “It is my understanding that Spurs may have already met with David Moyes today and that Moyes compensation has been agreed with EFC.”

A statement that was quickly denied by Everton, and with some veracity, as the club’s Director of Communications, Paul Tyrrell, tweeted: “This is an absolute lie Ian. I expected better from you. If you repeat it, you can expect legal action from EFC.”

This certainly had the desired effect as Abrahams, who is more commonly known by the nickname Moose, apologised and withdrew the comments.

He said: “Ok Paul sorry and I withdraw it. I withdraw the comments about David Moyes I made a short while ago leaving Everton for Spurs.”

Despite the exchange Moyes remains the odds-on favourite to succeed Redknapp at Spurs, with Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and ironically Capello rounding out the top three.

Van Persie, who netted 37 times for Arsenal last season, has been holding contract talks with Gunners officials in recent weeks as his current deal expires next summer.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is believed to be ready to table a bid of around £30m to bring the 28-year-old to the Etihad next season but such a move now appears unlikely.

“It is impossible to go to another English team,” his father Bob Van Persie was quoted as telling Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo.

If Van Persie does not put pen to paper on a new deal at the Emirates Juventus now appear favourites for his signature, with his father also ruling out a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Bob added: “What the hell would Robin do at the club [Barcelona]? They already have Messi and it does not make sense to go.

“I like Real Madrid – but that would not fit. Not team players, but a group of stars.”

Van Persie hailed Juventus as a ‘great team’ last week and the Italian press have been incessant in their reports of the striker’s impending move to Serie A.

Media coverage which was not dampened by Juve director Beppe Marotta’s description of Van Persie as ‘among the most complete players around’ last month.

Any potential transfer would not, however, be motivated by the chance to win silverware, with his father suggesting money could be the deciding factor.

Bob said: “Robin does everything necessary to win, but victory is not his only goal. Play to win but not at any cost.”

He still had a very good season, lifting the team to a fourth place finish but missing out on the Champions League due to Chelsea’s victory. Now he might still get his chance to play on the biggest club stage in the world if he decides to join Manchester United.

The club missed out on Eden Hazard earlier this month and Kagawa is seen more as a wide man rather than a creative midfielder. The team have been thin in the midfield which forced them to ask Paul Scholes to come out of retirement during last season to cope with all their injuries.

It looks like United might be the only serious contender for Modric at the minute since Chelsea has already signed Hazard, De Bruyne and Marko Marin. They are also very close to signing Hulk from Porto and this would basically fill up their midfield.

United, however, are still missing a few vital components in their team and a deal with Tottenham for Modric can see the total fee rise to £30 million depending on performance based bonuses. The contract reportedly on offer would give the midfielder £26 million over the course of four years if he decides to move to Old Trafford.

Kagawa has been one of the most sought after talents this year, attracting the interest of several major European clubs. However, once Manchester United stepped in to the picture it seemed fairly certain where he would end up.

Even though the deal is signed, the transfer is still subject to the Japanese midfielder obtaining a work-permit in the UK. The fee can reach a total of £17 based on different clauses in the contract signed with Kagawa.

Kagawa is now the second Asian player in the United squad, joining former South Korea captain Ji-Sung Park. This will help increase the massive fanbase that United already have in Asia, estimated at over 300 million people.

United were long in the hunt for Eden Hazard but the Belgian international decided to join London club Chelsea after turning down both Manchester City and Manchester United.

But it isn’t all joys at United as the signing of Kagawa increases the competition on the United midfield. The team already has Park, Giggs, Nani, Valencia and Young signed as wingers, and with Kagawa it makes six players fighting for potentially two positions.

Kagawa can also play just off the striker in a 4-2-3-1, something United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has experimented with over the last few years.

Some people have said that the signing of Kagawa is just a publicity stunt but United commercial director Richard Arnold denied the claims in a comment to the BBC. “We don’t sign players to sell shirts. We are reliant on 25 players and they are all massive stars. We have 25 George Clooneys,” he said.

The England team arrived on Wednesday after getting some time off with their families after the last friendly against Belgium. The news of the passing of Mr. Defoe came as a shock to the player and the England squad and he was allowed to leave instantly in order to spend time with his family.

It is unclear when the striker will return to the squad but people within the England camp said that he would return at some point during the Euros.

However, it is unlikely that he will be available for England’s opening game against France, leaving manager Roy Hodgson with Danny Welbeck and Andy Carroll as his only options for the striker position.

The departure of Defoe comes as another major blow to the England squad after Gareth Barry, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill all have had to leave the preparations for the Euros.

The squad is also missing Jack Wilshire, Kyle Walker due to previous injuries. Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first 2 games and Michael Carrick has declined to play for England if he is considered as a back-up.

There has been more drama around the England camp as Rio Ferdinand and his management have criticised Hodgson for choosing Martin Kelly over the United defender after Cahill’s injury.

Hodgson made it clear that he overlooked Ferdinand for footballing reasons when the initial squad was announced but question marks have arisen as he was overlooked yet again. Many believe it is the ongoing dispute between John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, brother of Rio, which is keeping him out of the squad.

Manager Roy Hodgson says that Cahill will undergo an X-Ray to see if he has broken his jawbone, something that Hodgson fears might be likely.

This would serve as a massive blow to the England squad after several players have had to bow out due to injury.

Darren Bent, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Kyle Walker, and Jack Wilshire were all potential starters who aren’t in the squad anymore because of injury problems.

The second England centre half, John Terry, also had to be taken off with a potential thigh injury. Even though Hodgson wasn’t as worried about the fitness of Terry, the Chelsea skipper will still undergo a scan to determine the seriousness of the injury.

Joleen Lescott replaced Cahill when he was taken off and had to get his head bandaged after a knock split his eyebrow.

The Manchester City defender had a shirt that was more red than white and the referee made him go off the pitch for a few minutes.

However, there aren’t any concerns in the England camp about the fitness of Lescott as he finished the game with a massive bandage around his forehead.

Sources close to the team made it clear that the clubs were in long negotiations during Thursday and the clubs finally agreed on the transfer fee. They also say that the fee will land around £38 million for the Brazilian striker.

If the rumors are true, Hulk will be the second major signing of the week for Chelsea after Eden Hazard made it clear that he will be joining the Champions League winners this season.

Earlier in the year the Londoners have also struck a deal to sign German star Marko Marin for an undisclosed fee.

With several new additions to the squad the pressure is mounting on the directors to appoint a new manager. Roberto di Matteo has still not been given any hint regarding his future at the club and there haven’t been any official talks with other managers.

Di Matteo had a great time as interim manager at Chelsea, leading the club to a victory in the FA Cup and finishing off the season with an amazing display in the Champions League that saw the club beat German side Bayern Munich in the Final.

Pep Guardiola, the former Barcelona manager, has been mentioned as a possible candidate but it seems like not even Roman Abramovitch’s pockets are deep enough to get the Catalan manager to move to the Premiership this year.

The 33-year-old Chelsea man has now been assessed by the England medical staff and it has been determined that the Champions League winner will miss out on the Euros.

Even though Lampard might’ve not been a man for the starting 11 in the opener against France, the loss of his presence will be felt as he will not appear in the England squad anymore this summer.

This is another blow to Roy Hodgson’s England squad as they are already missing several key players due to injury. Jordan Henderson has been put on standby and is likely to be called up now that Lampard has been ruled out

The Liverpool midfielder had a rough first year at Anfield but a potential spot at the Euros might brighten his year.

Potential replacement Michael Carrick has turned down playing for England as he does not want to be seen as just a back-up. England are now left with Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker as the only two remaining central midfielders that were chosen in the squad.

Gerrard has been very injury prone over the last few years and only played a dozen or so games for Liverpool this season. It looks like Hodgson might have to look a bit further down the list to find more back-ups in case even more players get injured.

There still hasn’t been any confirmations regarding the fitness of Glen Johnson and Danny Welbeck who both had to sit out a few practices earlier in the week with potential injuries.

The 23-year-old is still negotiating with United over his personal terms but Dortmund and United are said to have agreed on a transfer fee of £12 million. If Kagawa performs as the clubs expect him to the total fee can rise as high as £17 million.

Kagawa wasn’t the first choice for the Manchester club as they were in the chase for Belgian midfielder Eden Hazard until he decided to join Chelsea. Dortmund’s director of football, Michael Zorc, commented on the possible transfer:

Some details are still to be confirmed.

Over the last Bundesliga season the midfielder scored 13 goals in 31 games as Dortmund were able to retain their title as German champions just ahead of Champions League finalists Bayern Munich.

Now it looks like the German side will be losing one of their most prized assets to the Premier League Runners-Up as they try to strengthen their squad for a championship assault against local rivals Manchester City next season.

Manchester United were recently voted the most popular club in the world when it was announced that they have a total fan base of over 600 million people around the world.

Over 300 million of those fans live in Asia, a market that will potentially expand drastically with the signing of Kagawa. Despite this, Manchester United officials have made it clear that they are not signing Kagawa as a commercial product, but to strengthen the squad on the field.

He will join Park-Ji Sung as the second Asian player in the United squad.