Rivals to scupper Bentley swoop

Tottenham could be ready to scupper Aston Villa's hopes of landing David Bentley by offering £8m plus Aaron Lennon.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill has made Bentley one of his top targets of the summer but he faces huge competition from Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea and Inter Milan for his services.

Blackburn's new boss Paul Ince has spoken of his determination to keep hold of his top stars this summer and plans to sit down with Bentley and Roque Santa Cruz to discuss the future.

Rovers chairman John Williams has told Ince that whatever he decides to do with Bentley he will get the board's backing and all of the interested clubs are hoping he will decide to sell.

Villa are ready to pay the going rate but it looks as though Spurs may have jumped to the head of queue.

Bentley has made it clear he wants to move on and Ince may feel the time is right to grant him his wish and take the £8m plus a ready-made replacement in the shape of Lennon.