Even if Spurs were interested (and the rumour reeks of a lazy southern journalist making up a story based on the Lennon link) I think we'd value him higher than they'd be prepared to pay. It wouldn't make much sense for us to sell him for less than £20m, while it'd be odd for Spurs to spend that kind of sum when they've put in a good deal of time developing Mason (who's obviously similar) and Carroll (less similar but still a deep-lying midfielder) and evidently rate Bentaleb highly. They also have Stambouli, so it's not exactly a weak area for them.
And on McCarthy's ability: I think some people overstate it at times, although he's much more than a hard working, keep-it-simple footballer. He reminds me a lot of a more mobile Joe Parkinson, in that he probably has more to his game than even he knows. Parkinson sadly didn't get the chance to develop but hopefully McCarthy will. We've certainly seen a few glimpses of a top class box-to-box midfielder over the past two seasons.
