Arshavin on ice but Spurs grab Bentley
Tottenham have been warned they must significantly raise their offer for Andrei Arshavin if they want to make the Russia forward their second blockbuster signing of the week.
Blackburn and England midfielder David Bentley will be presented as a Spurs player this morning, after the 23-year-old’s £15m switch was confirmed last night. The former Arsenal trainee is believed to have signed a six-year deal at their local rivals.
A replacement for striker Robbie Keane is the next priority for Tottenham boss Juande Ramos, and Arshavin has made known his desire to move to White Hart Lane. But Spurs are nowhere near meeting Zenit St Petersburg’s asking price for Arshavin, whose value rocketed after a string of eye-catching performances at Euro 2008.
“At this point there are some talks with Tottenham, but nothing complete because of the high fee Zenit want for Andrei,” said Arshavin’s agent Dennis Lachter.
“The gap is huge between the two clubs as Zenit are looking for a lot of money for Andrei. Juande Ramos very much wants to sign Andrei as he is his No1 target and (chairman) Daniel Levy is doing everything to make the deal, but it is difficult to agree a fee with Zenit.”
Asrhavin – rated at £20m – would welcome a move to Spurs, having seen his dream club Barcelona put off by Zenit’s asking price.
Lachter added: “Andrei has made his decision and he would like to go to Tottenham. He likes the way Tottenham play football and he is a big admirer of Ramos.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Jermaine Jenas and defender Michael Dawson have signed one-year contract extensions, committing them until 2013.
Striker Darren Bent hit his second hat-trick in three days as Spurs beat Leyton Orient 5-1 last night.