West Ham accept Sunderland bid for defender Ferdinand

TRANSFER NEWS: ROY KEANE is awaiting news of his approach for West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand.

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley, who insisted on Friday that he did not want to lose Ferdinand, has confirmed that Sunderland have had a bid, understood to be in the region of €10 million, accepted.

Now it remains for Keane and chairman Niall Quinn to sell their vision to the 23-year-old, who has rejected a new deal at Upton Park.

Curbishley told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The board have accepted the bid - he's not renegotiated his contract - and the decision was taken out of my hands.

"I don't know where Anton is in terms of signing for Sunderland, but once the club accept the bid it moves on.

"We are thin on the ground," added Curbishley. "If we lose another defender we will have to react to that."

Liverpool are close to concluding Rafael Benitez's search for a left-sided midfielder, bringing down the curtain on their interest in Gareth Barry while they are at it, having made an improved offer for Espanyol winger Albert Riera.

The Anfield club's latest bid is less than the €15 million Everton submitted for the 26-year-old on Friday, and they remain reluctant to match the offer of their rivals.

However, despite the Spanish club's insistence that they will only sell Riera for €15 million, Liverpool are confident the player's stated wish to move to Anfield will force a compromise.

Riera, who made 15 appearances for Manchester City during a loan spell for Stuart Pearce two seasons ago, has told Espanyol that he will only consider a move to Liverpool and the Spaniards, anxious not to lose out on his potential fee, were last night considering the latest bid.

Liverpool have also seen attempts to include Andriy Voronin as a makeweight in a deal thwarted by Espanyol's lack of interest in the Ukraine international.

Liverpool stepped up their interest in the player having refused to meet Aston Villa's €23 million valuation on Barry and with the prospect of prising Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough so close to the deadline fraught with difficulty.

Benitez will persist in his efforts to raise further funds this week, with Xabi Alonso still a target for Arsenal, who have yet to increase an initial offer of €15 million for the Spain midfielder. Stoke City have made a joint €9.5 million offer for Jermaine Pennant and Sami Hyypia, although the former's reluctance to move there is proving a major obstacle to that deal.

Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos is reportedly due to undergo a medical at AC Milan today, ahead of sealing a loan move.

• Guardian Service