The circus that surrounds David Beckham’s potential move to Spurs is, of course, about much more than football. London’s paparazzi are on high alert, gossip columnists are adding ‘Pavlyuchenko’ to their spell-check dictionaries and Daniel Levy is watching a new yacht on eBay.

But after the shirt sales and celebrity kudos, the footballing logic of the deal appears sound.

Firstly, Beckham is a much-respected athlete. He is now a senior statesman of English football, more than simply a part-time shuffling midfielder with an eye for the corridor of uncertainty. Much like Jose Mourinho, he can be the cool older brother in the changing room, the pinnacle of celebrity footballer that the young bucks will look up to.

But unlike the fur-coat-and-no-trophy standing of a Jamie Redknapp or Michael Owen, Beckham is a winner. He’s arguably the most successful English footballer of the last decade, collecting a swag-bag of domestic and continental trophies, playing for the three biggest clubs in Europe and captaining his country more than 50 times. Heat magazine greenhorns Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone may be impressed with his glitzy life from afar, but up close they will see how he has earned it – hard work and professionalism.

More obviously, Spurs will be getting a player with vision, tactical awareness and a right foot honed through thousands of hours of practice. That can’t be bought too readily and could provide a static balance to the surges of Gareth Bale.

For Lennon, a player who has spent his international career being castigated for not having a good enough final ball (or to put it another way, for not being Beckham) time spent observing the mechanics of his technique can only help. The turtle could give the hare a few tips.

In a game situation, left-backs tortured by a Lennon-shaped blur for 70 minutes may welcome the introduction of the diesel-powered Beckham, but centre-backs will be dreading the perfect-parabola crosses being whipped in. Expect to see Peter Crouch’s eyes-widen considerably over the next two months.

Conversely, concerns over his fitness are valid – the Premier League is a bear pit for players at their peak, let alone a 35-year-old, and an injury picked up during his last loan spell at Milan will have put the LA Galaxy medical staff on edge.

However, aside from the fact that Beckham did not hit his medium-paced stride until the relatively late age of 20 (and that the AC Milan physios said he could trundle on until the age of 38), he has never been a player to rely on astounding athleticism.

Stamina and precise conditioning have clearly helped him endure, but Beckham’s value to Spurs will lie in his ability to be used as a specialist akin to an American Football kicker, in short spurts and with a brief to dictate from a fixed position – to stand and deliver, not run around and get all Greece-at-Old-Trafford-circa-2001.

Beckham has never been seen as a sage or intellectual individual. Despite that, the wisdom he could impart by example would have effects lasting beyond the two months of his stay.

The missing link in Spurs’ set-up, the anomaly that stops them being seen as genuine title contenders, is a lack of seasoned winners. Only William Gallas ranks among Premier League title-winners in their squad, and he is often regarded as a volatile character. As unromantic as it sounds, Beckham would essentially be a highly-paid winning consultant.

For LA Galaxy, the risk of injury and that their player may return with an added attachment for home are certainly apparent. They will have to judge whether or not getting a fully-fit and flying Beckham back in March is a risk worth taking.

For Spurs, it is win-win. A role model pro, who has won everything, has something to offer on the pitch, knows the league, speaks the language and will make them some cash in merchandise and ticket sales.

Harry Redknapp may detest his ‘wheeler-dealer’ reputation, but he is doing nothing to rid himself of it.