Tottenham Hotspur were last night on the verge of agreeing a £6.8 million fee to sign Vedran Corluka, which would take their spending on players this summer to more than £50 million.

The Croatia defender was used at right back by Manchester City last season, but Tottenham believe that he can replace Ledley King in the long term as a central-defensive partner for Jonathan Woodgate. Tottenham, who were unable to complete deals to sign Fernando Meira or Fabricio Coloccini, have been looking at more than one centre back because of fitness concerns about King and the erratic form of Michael Dawson last season.

Tottenham were interested in signing Corluka in the middle of last year and playing him at right back, but they did not follow up their interest with a firm bid and the player moved to City from Dynamo Zagreb for a fee approaching £8 million last summer. Tottenham then signed Alan Hutton, the right back, from Rangers in January.

Corluka’s proposed move is not without complications, but it is likely to go through. City are willing to sell a player who made 35 league appearances last season so that they can fund a move for a recognised right back. They have enough cover in central defence, with Richard Dunne, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, and Tal Ben-Haim, recently signed from Chelsea. Onuoha’s opportunities were restricted last season, after a 2006-07 campaign in which he had established himself in the first team, and he is attracting interest from several clubs.

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Decent bets

Liverpool hope to complete a deal for Gareth Barry by the end of this week, possibly in time to play against Lazio in a friendly on Friday. The club are waiting for their American owners to transfer the money from the United States to meet the first instalment of Aston Villa’s £18 million price tag — although there was some anxiety at Anfield yesterday afternoon when the funds had not yet arrived. Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, has conceded defeat in trying to keep the England midfield player.

Villa are likely to use some of the proceeds to try to buy Nicky Shorey after they, and Sunderland, offered in the region of £1.5 million for the left back. Reading are holding out for at least double that fee after effectively conceding that the England player has to be sold because he has a year left on his contract. Zenit St Petersburg have said that they are waiting on Tottenham to increase their bid for Andrei Arshavin, the Russia playmaker, from £15.5 million to more than £20 million.

Dead certs

Blackburn Rovers have signed Danny Simpson on a season-long loan from Manchester United. The full back, 21, played eight times for United last season before a loan spell at Ipswich Town. Blackburn have given a trial to Anthony Annan with a view to the Ghana midfield player moving from IK Start, in Norway as well as Paul Baysse, the Bordeaux and France Under-20 central defender.

West Ham United have signed Jan Lastuvka, as a reserve goalkeeper, on a season-long loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian club. Portsmouth have signed Omar Koroma, the Gambian forward, from Banjul Hawks on a two-year deal. The 18-year-old is likely to be loaned to a Coca-Cola Championship club.

Long shots

Robinho, the Real Madrid and Brazil forward, says that he is mulling over offers from several clubs, including Chelsea. “The season is just starting and I’ve been given some offers from other clubs. I have one from Chelsea, but we’re just discussing,” he said.

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