Tottenham have emerged as strong favourites to sign
David Bentley from Blackburn after the England winger indicated
that he wants to come back to London. Bentley, who is hoping to
leave Blackburn this summer following Mark Hughes’s departure to
Manchester City, grew up as a Spurs fan and is understood to have
set his sights on a dream switch to White Hart Lane.
The 23-year-old former Arsenal star has also been linked with
moves to Liverpool and City. Bentley has admitted he is desperate
to play in European competition next season and while Tottenham
aren’t in the Champions League, they have qualified for the UEFA
Cup.
Spurs see the England international as another signing that is
crucial to their hopes of challenging the top four next season and
getting into Europe’s premier club competition, but they are not
prepared to pay the £15million asking price.
It has been reported that boss Juande Ramos needs to sell first
before he can sign any more players, but that is not the case. The
club are expected to trim their squad this summer to help balance
the budget, but they can start negotiations with Blackburn now.
Tottenham don’t think Bentley should command a similar fee to
Croatia international Luka Modric, who they bought for £15.8m last
month. They will hope to secure a deal for £12m, which is the same
sum they are demanding Sunderland pay for striker Darren Bent.
But Blackburn are likely to hold out for more and chairman John
Williams insists Bentley’s future will not be decided until the
club appoint a new manager.
Meanwhile, German international striker Lukas Podolski has
claimed Tottenham
and Juventus want to sign him from Bayern Munich. Spurs have been
looking at possible replacements for wantaway Dimitar Berbatov and
it has been reported in Germany that Podolski, who has scored three
goals at Euro 2008, has been the subject of a £15.8m bid.
