Lloris aiming for top three

Hugo Lloris believes Tottenham have the ability to challenge for a place in the top three of the Premier League.



Spurs are currently fourth in the table, just a point behind Chelsea, although they trail runaway leaders Manchester United by 17 points with 12 games remaining.



But goalkeeper Lloris believes his side are closing in on the likes of United, Manchester City and Chelsea, although he is also wary of slipping up in the race for fourth place this season.



"Today, there's United, City and Chelsea who are a cut above, and who have more financial means. But Tottenham is just behind," said Lloris, who joined Spurs from Thursday's opponents Lyon last summer.



"The club has been trying to establish itself in the top four for some years now.



"For the minute, the season has been promising, but the hardest part is yet to come because there are still a number of key matches to be played and we'll have to be ready for that.



"For the moment, we're well-placed, though we're not beyond a possible charge by Arsenal."



Lloris had to be patient after initially making the move to England due to Andre Villas-Boas keeping faith with Brad Friedel.



Now established as the first-choice goalkeeper at Spurs, Lloris reckons the experience of challenging Friedel for the position has made him stronger.



"Things were very clear, that I was coming to Tottenham as the number one," he told RTL.



"But the manager made a decision at the start, and then made a different one a few weeks later. The negotiations over the move were with the chairman, but it was also the choice of the coach. I also had talks with him during that time.



"It's not easy, because I came in after the start of the season, and he was already under pressure because the results were not good at that point in time. It's the sort of situation which helps you grow, it's a personal challenge."

Carlo Cudicini swaps Spurs for the LA Galaxy

Goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini is set for a fresh start in America after Tottenham announced they have reached an agreement to sell the goalkeeper to Major League Soccer outfit the LA Galaxy.



Cudicini moved to White Hart Lane in 2009 but has found his opportunities limited due to the presence of Heurelho Gomes and the arrivals of Brad Friedel and Hugo Lloris.



Indeed, the Italian is perhaps now fourth choice in manager Andre Villas-Boas' plans so it is perhaps no surprise the north London club were looking to offload.



"We have reached agreement for the transfer of Carlo Cudicini to Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy," said a short statement on Tottenham's official website.



"Carlo joined us from Chelsea in January 2009 and went on to make a total of 37 appearances. We wish Carlo all the best for the future."

Wednesday's round up of the top transfer stories

- Brad Friedel is ready to give up his battle with Hugo Lloris to be Tottenham's first-choice goalkeeper and make a dramatic return to Blackburn Rovers, according to Dailymail.



- Liverpool's interest in Jeffren Suarez has been confirmed by the Sporting Lisbon forward's agent, Jorge Llagostera, who told Portuguese radio station Antena 1: "Liverpool and other Premier League clubs are monitoring the kid."



- Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has been linked with a move to Liverpool, is keen on joining Arsenal or Chelsea next year, according to Voetbal International.



- But Huntelaar insists he only wants to concentrate on playing football, telling reporters: "I only concentrate on my games for Schalke."



- Manchester City want Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Alen Halilovic, according to Dailymail.



- Manchester United striker Josh King is set to sign for Blackburn on loan, according to talkSPORT.



- Manchester United are ready to press ahead with a move for Kevin Strootman - and PSV are already planning for his departure.



- Arsenal and Everton are ready to find out whether they will receive the green light to move for Lewis Holtby - with the Schalke star's future set to be concluded next month.



- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has refused to rule out signing Thierry Henry for a third time.



- Arsenal could ramp up their interest in Aymen Abdennour after sending scouts to keep an eye on the defender during Toulouse's 1-0 defeat to Nice on Sunday, according to talkSPORT.



- The agent of Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky claims there is no substance to reports linking his client with a move to Roma.



- Theo Walcott will put no timescale on contract talks with Arsenal and has called for continued patience from the club's supporters.



- Southampton are ready to offer £5.5million to take Blackpool midfielder Matt Phillips in January.



- Sky Sports understands that Christian Atsu is poised to pen a new deal at Porto, forcing Tottenham Hotspur to end their interest in the highly-rated youngster.



- Real Madrid have turned down Everton's bid to sign Russian starlet Denis Cheryshev, according to sources in Spain.



- Marseille forward Andre Ayew admits he could be lured away from France, as speculation linking him with West Ham United mounts.



- Inter Milan want to scupper Manchester City's plans to sign Pedro Obiang and will make their move this January, according to talkSPORT.



- Atletico Madrid are yet to make a move for Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, according to the player's agent.



- Radamel Falcao has moved to dampen talk of a January switch to Chelsea by insisting he remains focused on achieving success with Atletico Madrid.



- Hamburg have no plans to sell South Korea international striker Heung-Min Son amid widespread Premier League interest.



- Former Chelsea ace Didier Drogba could be on his way back to the Premier League after asking FIFA for special dispensation to leave Shanghai Shenhua on loan outside of the transfer window.

AVB: Fine won't stop racist chants

Andre Villas-Boas fears Lazio's fine for monkey chanting will not stop their fans doing the same again on Thursday when they host Tottenham at the Stadio Olimpico in the Europa League.



Lazio were last month fined £32,500 after UEFA found their fans guilty of chanting racist abuse towards Jermain Defoe, Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon in September's 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane.



UEFA have been criticised in the past for their lenient punishments for racism and Villas-Boas told a press conference on Wednesday night: "UEFA decided to punish Lazio and rightly so. It doesn't mean that incidents won't happen again tomorrow."



He added: "I think the players are in the right frame of mind to leave the authorities to deal with those situations in case it happens. That's something that hopefully will not happen tomorrow."



Spurs defender Steven Caulker is all too aware of the fact that racism has reared its ugly head in the game once again this season. He played in the controversial goalless draw against the Italians in September and was also on the pitch when the England Under-21 team were subjected to monkey chanting in Serbia four weeks later.



Fans and players of the Rome club have been accused of an affiliation with right-wing politics in Italy in the past, but he hopes there will be no trouble in the Group J match in Rome.



"I'm not worried about the atmosphere - I hope football does the talking," the England centre-half said. "Italy is a great footballing country. Hopefully that will be the talking point tomorrow."



Spurs will progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League if they beat the Italian giants in the Eternal City. The Londoners have struggled so far in the competition, with their only win coming in their last game against Slovenian minnows Maribor.



A draw should still be enough to see Villas-Boas' men through, providing they beat Panathinaikos in the final group game in December. Villas-Boas, who won the Europa League two years ago with Porto, would like to wrap up qualification on Thursday, however.



"It's all about this game," the 35-year-old said. "It will be important for us to win and qualify. It will give the squad an important feeling of beating a great team away from home."