Spurs frustrated once more as £8m Ricketts offer fails

A Tottenham bid worth £8m for the England striker Michael Ricketts has been rejected by Bolton Wanderers.

Spurs have so far offered straight cash and the possibility of swaps, hoping to persuade Bolton to do business. Wanderers have admitted their interest in the Norwegian Steffen Iversen, valued at around £4m. However, when Spurs suggested a straight swap, Bolton dismissed the idea. Only serious money will sway them, though Tottenham would prefer a swap-plus-cash deal.

The Turkish club Galatasaray also inquired about Ricketts recently, but were told he was not for sale. The Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, has accused the Turks of refusing international clearance for the midfielder Akin Bulent, who arrived on a Bosman free transfer in the summer. Galatasaray are claiming a fee, saying he was not eligible for a free transfer.

The Blackburn Rovers manager, Graeme Souness, has reacted furiously to a £10m Liverpool bid for Damien Duff, the Ireland left winger. Souness implied that Liverpool were trying to unsettle the player.

"There is a wind-up going on here which is all a bit unfair," Souness said.

Nigel Martyn's reign as Leeds United's No 1 is over and he is poised for a £2m move to Southampton in the next few days. Martyn had talks with his manager, Terry Venables, to discuss his future and was told that the England Under-21 international Paul Robinson will start the season ahead of him.

The setback has prompted the 36-year-old to seek a new club and Saints are in the process of putting together a three-year £3m package for him.

The Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, faces a goalkeeping problem as his loan move for Fabian Carini is on the verge of collapse. Wenger has given the Juventus keeper a 48-hour deadline to agree personal terms on his one-year loan move to Highbury, but said he is "not optimistic" about a solution being found in time.

The Birmingham City manager, Steve Bruce, is making a £2.2m bid for Crystal Palace's Hayden Mullins. Bruce opened talks with his former employers about taking the versatile Mullins and making him the third former Eagle to leave for St Andrews after Clinton Morrison and Jovan Kirovski.

Sunderland have completed the £3m transfer of the full-back Stephen Wright from Liverpool.