SUNDERLAND have made a £10million bid for Spurs striker Peter Crouch, with the move potentially funded by Anton Ferdinand's departure to Premier League newcomers Queens Park Rangers.
On a busy afternoon of transfer activity on Wearside, the Black Cats entered into talks with QPR with a view to a cut-price £3m deal for Ferdinand, before submitting the bid for long-time target Crouch.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan move to Spurs from Manchester City means Crouch (pictured left) has dropped down the pecking order at White Hart Lane. Stoke were interested in signing the England striker until that deal fell through earlier in the week.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has twice signed Crouch – for Portsmouth and then for Spurs – but has admitted he is now prepared to let the 31-year-old move on.
“It’s up to Crouchy,” said Redknapp. “I’ve had Peter at a few clubs. Good player, great guy as well. But I suppose with Adebayor coming in, it’s an area that we are a little bit overloaded in and he’s one that people want, so if we could do a deal with someone, then it’s a possibility.”
Sunderland’s bid for Crouch represents Bruce’s third attempt to bring the player to Wearside, having failed last summer and the year before.
In 2009, Sunderland had a £12m bid accepted by Portsmouth for the targetman but at that stage the player chose a move to Spurs – and a reunion with his old Pompey boss Redknapp – over a switch to Sunderland.
Bruce tried again last summer but the combination of Spurs’ asking price and Crouch’s wages proved too expensive, and he moved for Ghana’s World Cup star Asamoah Gyan instead.
