Coventry want Gascoigne

Coventry City have revealed an ambitious bid to sign the England midfielder Paul Gascoigne from his Italian club, Lazio.

"We are very serious about this. It is no publicity stunt," the Highfield Road chairman, Bryan Richardson, said. "I would not insult people's intelligence by doing something like that. Our average gates of 15,000 mean there are 8,000 empty seats at every home match. If Paul came here he could fill the ground and that would be worth £1.6m a year to this club."

The Sky Blues' manager, Ron Atkinson, who has been on the look-out for a major signing, confirmed the inquiry. "Paul is the type of personality I want at this club," he said.