Jeffers heads Bruce's three-man wish list

Steve Bruce, the Birmingham City manager, has put Francis Jeffers, the Arsenal striker, at the top of a three-man, £10m, summer shopping list as the Blues look to make quick and eye-catching moves on several fronts.

Jeffers, bought from Everton for £6m two years ago, is on the fringes at Highbury and may be sold to raise money towards other signings for Arsène Wenger. The Arsenal manager does not want to lose Jeffers but the decision may be taken over his head, especially if Birmingham come up with around £4m for the Liverpudlian.

Birmingham are also clear leaders in the chase for the Brazilian World Cup midfielder, Kleberson. They are willing to pay the £4.5m price and also offer him a lucrative salary package. The final decision will come down to the player, who is due to fly in for talks in the next week or so.

Bruce is also hopeful that Manchester United will sell him the goalkeeper Roy Carroll for around £2m after making an approach to his old manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

John McKenzie, the Leeds United chairman, has warned clubs about making illegal approaches for his players after an Italian agent claimed he had conducted talks with Tottenham Hotspur over the transfer of Mark Viduka.

The Italian agent, Andrea D'Amico, said he met the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy at White Hart Lane to discuss the Australian. However, McKenzie claimed Viduka was not for sale and no one had expressed an interest in him.

"We've had no approach for Mark Viduka from Spurs or any other club," McKenzie said. "I am surprised to hear the claims of talks between an agent and Spurs because if this is true it would clearly constitute an illegal approach. Anyway, our position is that Mark Viduka is not for sale."

D'Amico claims that a host of clubs are chasing Viduka. "At the moment it is only interest from Spurs, and there are a lot of clubs in Europe who are interested in Mark," D'Amico said.

The 27-year-old, who still has three years to run on his current contract, cost Leeds £6m from Celtic in July 2000.

Meanwhile, Leeds expect to complete a deal to sell Olivier Dacourt to Roma for around £4m, despite delays in finalising the move. The Frenchman has been on loan to the Serie A club since January.

Lorenzo Amoruso, of Rangers, could be moving to the Premiership after Blackburn Rovers revived their interest in the Italian defender. The Rovers manager Graeme Souness is prepared to pay just under £1m to his old club for the 31-year-old. Souness is also set to complete the signing of the on-loan Slovak left-back Vratislav Gresko from Parma in a deal worth around £2m.

The Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, is in talks with the Greek international midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos, who flew in last night to discuss a move. Allardyce thinks Giannakopoulos will be cheaper than Bernard Mendy, whose one-year loan is now over. Bolton would have to pay £4m to Paris St-Germain to sign Mendy permanently.

Markus Babbel has been told he no longer figures in Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier's plans and can look for another club. The 30-year-old German international failed to win back his place in the side this season after a year out with serious illness. Houllier has also criticised the defender's attitude and poor disciplinary record after two sendings off for the reserves.

* Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named Barclaycard Player of the Year for this season.