Peter Crouch was putting the finishing touches to his £11million return to Portsmouth last night, a move that he hopes will reinvigorate his England career and that Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, hopes will allow him to secure his top targets.

Liverpool have been among the few serious movers during a quiet summer in the transfer market, signing Andrea Dossena from Udinese for £8million and Philipp Degen from Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer, but Benítez has encountered frustration at the top end of the market, with Aston Villa demanding £18million for Gareth Barry and Tottenham Hotspur looking for a similar fee for Robbie Keane, the Ireland forward.

The sale of Crouch should bring Liverpool closer to a resolution over Barry, having had a bid worth £15million rejected by Villa last week, but the Liverpool manager's pursuit of Keane looks more problematic. With John Arne Riise sold to AS Roma and Scott Carson, Charles Itandje and Xabi Alonso expected to leave, the latter probably for Juventus, the Liverpool manager feels that he is on course to meet his target of raising more than £30million to reinvest in new players. Diego Cavalieri, the Palmeiras goalkeeper, is another expected arrival.

Crouch had a medical examination yesterday after Liverpool accepted Portsmouth's offer, of which £2million is conditional on his success at Fratton Park. Far from worried by a perceived drop in class, Crouch, who scored 19 goals in 39 appearances in an earlier spell at Portsmouth, is delighted, having been frustrated by Benítez's selection policy last season. The striker believes that regular first-team football will help his England career, having yet to start a match under Fabio Capello, the manager.

Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring Manchester City's move for Brad Friedel, the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper. If a transfer takes place, Blackburn would require a replacement and Tottenham would probably be willing to offer Paul Robinson as part of a deal to sign David Bentley, the Blackburn winger. To add to the complexity, Villa, who are vying to sign Bentley, have expressed interest in Robinson, but have yet to make an offer.

Portsmouth's search for a left back has been narrowed, with Nadir Belhadj, of Lens, being considered. Portsmouth took Lucien Aubey, the left back, on loan from Lens in January, having allowed Djimi Traoré, who plays in the same position, to join Rennes on loan for the same period. Traoré has since returned.

Villa are monitoring Steed Malbranque, the left winger who will be allowed to leave Tottenham, and are close to a deal for Frank Simek, the Sheffield Wednesday right back.

West Ham United have offered employment to Matteo Ferrari, the central defender who is out of contract at Roma.

Leonardo, the AC Milan technical director, has said that the Italian club have not given up hope of signing Emmanuel Adebayor, the Arsenal forward. “It's no secret we're interested in signing a forward and are studying candidates,” Leonardo said. “Adebayor is a player I really like. We are waiting for the right time to move.”

Charlton Athletic have inquired about signing on loan Hameur Bouazza, the winger who joined Fulham for an initial £3million from Watford last summer. The Algeria player made 21 appearances last season.

Alexander Tunchev, the Bulgaria central defender, has signed a three-year contract with Leicester City, moving from CSKA Sofia for an undisclosed fee, subject to a work permit.

Zenit St Petersburg have rejected a second offer of £12million from Barcelona for Andrei Arshavin, the Russia playmaker, who is also a target of Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Chelsea manager.