Bentley transfer details announced

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Thursday 31 July 2008 10:29 BST
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Tottenham today confirmed the signing of David Bentley from Blackburn will cost them an initial £15m, potentially rising to £17m.

Spurs announced they had reached agreement for the transfer of the England winger last night, and confirmed the details of the deal to the Stock Exchange this morning.

A statement from Tottenham plc read: "Tottenham Hotspur plc is pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with Blackburn Rovers for the transfer of the registration of the England international midfielder, David Bentley, age 23 years, to Tottenham Hotspur FC for a total consideration of £15m and up to an additional £2m payable upon future performances.

"The player's contract is for a period of up to six years."

Bentley will be unveiled later today as Juande Ramos' latest signing and could make his Spurs debut at the Feyenoord Jubileum Tournament in Rotterdam this weekend.

Rivals Arsenal, Bentley's former club, stand to receive a percentage of the deal as part of the terms of his transfer to Ewood Park in 2006 after an initial loan spell.

The winger made just nine appearances under Arsene Wenger but will join Sol Campbell as the only high-profile players to feature for Arsenal and Spurs in the modern era.

It looks set to be a productive few days for Spurs after Andrei Arshavin's representative, Dennis Lachter, claimed a deal should be concluded for the Russian playmaker "in the next five days".

According to Lachter, personal terms have been agreed and a deal could be struck by the weekend if the two clubs can agree a fee.

He told Sky Sports News: "I am very optimistic about this deal but it is not easy - as usual with Russian clubs.

"The next few days will see if he can confirm this move to Spurs.

"Andrei likes the way Juande Ramos is going to play at Tottenham and this is the main point of our decision - not only the money but the desire of the manager to have the player."

Of his hopes for when the deal might be completed, Lachter added: "I hope in the next five days, maximum."

Arshavin, who caught the eye at Euro 2008, told Sport Express in Russia: "I have already taken a final decision. It only remains to finalise it with the club management."

Bentley is the latest of the radical changes at Spurs this summer, with Heurelho Gomes replacing Paul Robinson as first-choice goalkeeper.

Luka Modric will be the focal point of the midfield after arriving from Dinamo Zagreb, while Giovani dos Santos has been bought from Barcelona and can play as alongside the Croatia international or as a support striker.

Dos Santos will take the number 17 which was occupied last season by Kevin-Prince Boateng, who has struggled to make an impact since arriving from Hertha Berlin.

Pascal Chimbonda, Teemu Tainio, Steed Malbranque, Younes Kaboul and Anthony Gardner have all been allowed to leave, and Spurs will listen to offers for Paul Stalteri, Young-Pyo Lee, Ricardo Rocha and Hossam Ghaly.

Meanwhile, midfielder Jermaine Jenas and centre-back Michael Dawson have signed one-year contract extensions, keeping them at White Hart Lane until 2013.

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