Spurs closing in on £12m Bentley

Tottenham have emerged as strong favourites to sign David Bentley from Blackburn after the England winger indicated that he wants to come back to London.

Bentley, who is hoping to leave Blackburn this summer following Mark Hughes's departure to Manchester City, grew up as a Spurs fan and is understood to have set his sights on a dream switch to White Hart Lane.

The 23-year-old former Arsenal star has also been linked with moves to Liverpool and City.

Bentley has admitted he is desperate to play in European competition next season and while Tottenham aren't in the Champions League, they have qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Spurs see the England international as another signing that is crucial to their hopes of challenging the top four next season and getting into Europe's premier club competition, but they are not prepared to pay the £15million asking price.

It has been reported that boss Juande Ramos needs to sell first before he can sign any more players, but that is not the case.

The club are expected to trim their squad this summer to help balance the budget, but they can start negotiations with Blackburn now.

Tottenham don't think Bentley should command a similar fee to Croatia international Luka Modric, who they bought for £15.8m last month. They will hope to secure a deal for £12m, which is the same sum they are demanding Sunderland pay for striker Darren Bent.

But Blackburn are likely to hold out for more and chairman John Williams insists Bentley's future will not be decided until the club appoint a new manager.

Meanwhile, German international striker Lukas Podolski has claimed Tottenham and Juventus want to sign him from Bayern Munich.

Spurs have been looking at possible replacements for wantaway Dimitar Berbatov and it has been reported in Germany that Podolski, who has scored three goals at Euro 2008, has been the subject of a £15.8m bid.