Tottenham Hotspur stepped up their efforts to strengthen their squad yesterday by offering Darren Bent in exchange for Kenwyne Jones, the Sunderland striker, and making a second offer for Wilson Palacios, only to have their £12 million bid for the midfield player rejected by Wigan Athletic.

Spurs have had straight cash offers of up to £10 million for Jones turned down by the Wearside club, who have said that the Trinidad & Tobago striker is not for sale. Tottenham prefer to use players in any improved offer and they believe that Sunderland would be interested in Bent because the clubs almost agreed a fee for the England forward last summer. The 24-year-old is valued at about £12 million by the North London club, who paid Charlton Athletic an initial £15.5 million for him 18 months ago. He has scored 12 goals this season.

Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham manager, will have to raise his offer for Palacios, the Honduras midfield player, to £14 million. Wigan were also unhappy that the fee instalments for Palacios, 24, were to be spread over four years. They would prefer most of the money to be paid within two years.

Decent bets

Newcastle United have made a £5 million offer to sign Stéphane Mbia, the Rennes midfield player. “He’s a great player,” said Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle manager, who is waiting to hear if Gérémi, the right-sided midfield player, has agreed to join Besiktas. “He [] is a monster, over six feet tall and a powerhouse box-to-box. He’s the nearest thing I’ve seen to Patrick Vieira.”

Kinnear expects to spend up to £10 million in this transfer window and will make a decision on signing Peter Lovenkrands, the unattached Denmark winger, after a private friendly match on Tuesday.

West Ham have been offered Pablo Osvaldo should Craig Bellamy and David Di Michele, the forwards, leave. Fiorentina want to offload the 23-year-old forward for about £7 million. He has played for the Italy Under-21 team, for whom Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, was a coach. West Ham have rejected a third offer from Manchester City of about £10 million for Bellamy, while Di Michele, who is on loan from Torino, is wanted by Reggina.

Dead certs

Hull City have signed Kevin Kilbane, the left-sided player, from Wigan for an undisclosed fee. Kilbane has signed a 2½-year deal, but Hull’s bid to sign Luís Boa Morte fell through when the forward failed to agree personal terms after a £2 million deal with West Ham had been done.

Blackburn Rovers have signed Gaël Givet on loan from Marseilles until the end of the season, with an option of a permanent deal for the France defender.

West Bromwich Albion have brought in Marc-Antoine Fortuné on loan for the season with an option to buy the 27-year-old Nancy striker, but Ariza Makukula has turned down a move to The Hawthorns after a loan deal with Benfica had been agreed. “I don’t think it’s a good fit for me,” the Portugal player said.

Newcastle have agreed to sign Caio Ferreira, the 18-year-old forward who had a trial at West Brom, from Clube Atlético do Porto, of Brazil.

Kyel Reid, the West Ham winger, has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan. Queens Park Rangers have signed Liam Miller, the Sunderland midfield player, until the end of the season. Bolton Wanderers have ended their interest in Denilson, the former Brazil forward who was on trial at the club, and Jimmy Bullard, the Fulham midfield player.

Long shots

Charles N’Zogbia, the Newcastle winger, has attracted interest from Marseilles and Lyons, who are also keen on Julien Faubert, the West Ham winger. Lyons have asked Claudio Caçapa, their former defender now at Newcastle, for an opinion of N’Zogbia. Marseilles, who have little cash, would offer a player as part of the deal.

Arthur Boka has turned down an offer from Tottenham. The Ivory Coast defender has signed a new two-year deal to stay at Stuttgart.

West Ham issued a terse statement last night saying that they were “astonished” that Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle United manager, has spoken openly about signing Lucas Neill on loan for the remainder of the season. While the Australia defender is out of contract this summer and is therefore entitled to begin talks with other clubs about joining them for next season, Newcastle have not contacted West Ham about a deal this month. Kinnear claimed to have spoken to Neill’s agent, which would contravene the regulations and Newcastle have now agreed not to pursue the transfer.