Following all of the speculation linking Rafael Van der Vaart with a move away from White Hart Lane this summer, one club has already declared themselves out of the race to sign the Dutchman. Despite being linked heavily, Hamburg have confirmed that the 29-year-old won’t be joining them as they simply cannot afford to sign him.

Even though he’s a fans’ favourite at Spurs, there has been intense speculation linking Van der Vaart away from the club after his first team opportunities became more limited last term. It was thought that his former side Hamburg would be one of the front runners for his signature, but club chairman Carl Edgar Jarchow has said that this won’t be occurring due to financial reasons. He told Blid in the simplest terms, “We cannot finance a move for Rafael van der Vaart”.

Following that revelation, there is now renewed hope that the Dutch international could remain at the club. Hamburg was seen as an attractive option for the midfielder, as his wife is understood to work in the city so it would have suited him much more on a personal level. While there have been rumours linking him with other clubs, none appear to be as striking as the Hamburg possibility. Moreover, Andre Villas-Boas has made no secret of the fact he is a firm admirer of Van der Vaart and bearing this in mind, you would think that the player would want at least another campaign at White Hart Lane.

Should Van der Vaart pledge his future to Spurs, it’ll certainly be a huge boost considering Luka Modric’s impending departure. Despite only joining the club in 2010, Van der Vaart has been a massive presence in front of goal having bagged twenty eight goals through his Tottenham career. While he did not feature prominently towards the back-end of last term, this was mainly due to the system that Harry Redknapp tended to employ.