Portsmouth make £2.5m bid for Phillips

Portsmouth are set to make an ambitious attempt to sign Sunderland's England international striker Kevin Phillips for £2.5m as they contemplate their first season in the top flight for 15 years.

Phillips has admitted he plans to leave Sunderland, recently relegated from the Premiership, and the Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has already begun transfer negotiations.

The 29-year-old striker was valued at around £10m by the Wearside club just a year ago, but the slump in the transfer market and his own mediocre form – Phillips has scored just six goals in the Premiership this season – has put him in newly-promoted Pompey's price range.

Redknapp is first in the queue for Phillips, who may even be cleared to speak to Portsmouth shortly as Sunderland – over £26m in debt – begin the painful process of restructuring for life in the Nationwide League.

However, there may not be too many other bidders for Phillips, despite past interest from Tottenham and Newcastle. Redknapp also has a reputation for bringing big-name players to unfashionable clubs and, if he rediscovers his form, Phillips could ensure that Portsmouth's return to the élite of English football is not a short one.

The Portsmouth manager is also looking for two new full-backs as he considers switching to a flat back four next season, but a proven goalscorer is his first priority.

The Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness is in talks with his old club Rangers about signing their Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso for £1.5m. Souness was in Scotland last night trying to agree a fee with Rangers officials.

Souness has been a long-term admirer of the 31-year-old centre-half and believes Amoruso can lead by example at the back, where Rovers have a handful of young and inexperienced defenders.

The Blackburn manager has switched to Amoruso after opening talks with Barcelona's Frank de Boer, but he is keeping that option open if the Rangers player proves too expensive.

Rovers are still planning to release Henning Berg at the end of the season when the his contract at Ewood Park expires and Souness is keen to bring in an experienced replacement.

The Blackburn winger Keith Gillespie is wanted by his former Manchester United team-mate Steve Bruce, now the manager of Birmingham City.

Gillespie is another player set to leave Rovers at the end of the season, with Souness showing no signs of being willing to offer him the sort of contract he is hoping for.

The 28-year-old has been at Blackburn since 1998 but would be happy to join ambitious Birmingham, who plan to carry on recruiting new players after virtually guaranteeing their Premiership status next season.

Meanwhile, Birmingham are set to give the Cologne goalkeeper Markus Pröll a trial. The 23-year-old is the German club's first-choice keeper but he is planning to leave Cologne in the summer and would like to play in the Premiership.

With Ian Bennett out of contract in July, Bruce is believed to be looking for two new keepers. His main target is Newcastle's Steve Harper but Bruce is reluctant to pay a large fee for the experienced keeper, who is kept on the bench at St James' Park by Shay Given's continued good form.