Could 'The Magician' be the defensive midfield shield Spurs have long been crying out for?
Steve Bruce likes Wilson Palacios. He first took the Honduran international to Birmingham City in summer 2007 on a six-month loan after a recommendation from Arsene Wenger (Palacios had had a trial at Arsenal). By January, Bruce was at Wigan and when Blues failed to take up the option to sign him permanently, Bruce gave him a three-and-a-half year deal at Wigan.
An exciting and versatile attacking midfielder who mainly featured down the left for the Latics, Palacios – known at his old club Olimpia as ‘the Magician’ for his ability to conjure openings out of nothing – can operate anywhere across the middle or ‘in the hole’ behind a front man.
His continued impressive performances saw him linked with moves to Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham, and it was the Londoners who won out - with Palacios sealing a £12 million move to White Hart Lane in January 2009, making his debut at Bolton at the end of that month.