Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham have been given until next week to make an offer for Peter Crouch after the Portsmouth and England forward held talks on Wearside yesterday.

Sunderland have agreed a fee of £12 million with Portsmouth, but Crouch would prefer to remain in the south of the country despite being impressed by Steve Bruce’s set-up.

Tottenham have made an offer for Fabian Delph, the midfield player valued by Leeds United at £8 million. Leeds turned down an offer from Aston Villa for Delph, who has also attracted the interest of Fulham.

Real Madrid have given Klaas-Jan Huntelaar until next week to decide on his preferred destination after offers from Tottenham and Stuttgart.

Decent bets
Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, has said that he has not received an approach for Ashley Young, despite the winger being linked with Chelsea and Tottenham. Villa would only consider an offer in excess of £25 million but would be reluctant to sell to Tottenham, a direct rival. Young is unlikely to be willing to put in a transfer request and Villa can offer him regular first-team football.

“The last time I spoke to Ashley and his agent, none of this was at the forefront,” O’Neill said. “No one has come in and asked us about him and if they did, they would get short shrift.”

Wigan Athletic are in talks to sign Victor Moses, the midfield player valued by Crystal Palace at £5 million. Moses, 18, has two years left on his contract.

Almería are considering a move for Lauren, the defender who is out of contract at Portsmouth this summer.

Arsenal have offered a trial to Veljko Batrovic, the 15-year-old winger who plays for Bubamara.

Marcus Tudgay’s agent has said that the forward could submit a transfer request to try to move to Burnley after their £2 million offer for the forward was turned down by Sheffield Wednesday.

Dead certs
Stewart Downing has signed a four-year deal with Villa after moving from Middlesbrough for a fee of up to £12 million. Wolverhampton Wanderers have agreed a fee with Hamilton Academical for the transfer of James McCarthy, the midfield player.

Hull City have withdrawn their interest in Daryl Murphy. They failed to settle on personal terms with the striker after agreeing an initial fee of £1.5million with Sunderland.

Long shots
David Moyes, the Everton manager, has reiterated that Joleon Lescott, the defender, after Manchester City declared their interest with a bid believed to be worth £15 million. “I have already said there will be no players sold at Everton and I do not feel I need to say any more,” Moyes said.