SWANSEA CITY have rejected a bid of €7.8 million from Manchester City for Scott Sinclair. The Premier League champions had hoped to tie up a deal for the 23-year-old midfielder this week as Roberto Mancini tries to bolster his squad before the transfer window deadline. However, the Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins revealed on Monday that the two clubs have yet to agree a deal.

Sinclair was left out of the Swans squad for Saturday’s home game with West Ham United and has told the club he will not sign a new contract. That had given Mancini hope that a deal could be reached. The City manager said on Sunday that new signings were crucial for his team to retain their title.

But Jenkins told BBC Wales: “We haven’t actually agreed any deal with Man City at the moment. I would have thought if they really wanted to sign Scott Sinclair they would have dealt with it a little bit better than they have. But that’s their business. But it has dragged on too long and I hope one way or another it will be concluded in the next couple of days.”

Jenkins said manager Michael Laudrup is hoping to further strengthen his squad before Friday’s deadline. Swansea have brought in the Spaniards Chico and Michu, the latter scoring three times in his first two games, as well as the Dutchman Jonathan de Guzman and the South Korean Ki Sung-yeung this summer, while the midfielder Joe Allen left to join former manager Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool.

“Hopefully, over the next few days, we’ll get a couple more signings in and we can put the transfer window behind us at the end of the month,” Jenkins added. “Our proposed signing of a couple of players is not dependent on Scott’s transfer out. I think it’s more about numbers and making sure we have the right number in the squad.”

Tottenham Hotspur are confident of completing the signing of France’s first-choice goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, from Lyon though a frantic final week of negotiations ahead of the closure of the transfer window could yet see Rafael van der Vaart become the latest high-profile player to depart the club.

Lloris is likely to be the first of a number of eye-catching arrivals at White Hart Lane ahead of Friday night’s cut-off as Andre Villas-Boas continues to reshape the squad left him at the club by his predecessor, Harry Redknapp. The 25-year-old goalkeeper, who has been capped 38 times, is still considering the move to London but is understood to be inclined to accept the switch. Lyon, who have failed to qualify for this season’s Champions League, are keen to sell and have indicated that a fee of €16.3 million would be acceptable.

That transfer should be announced imminently, with Tottenham’s interest in the Shakhtar Donetsk forward Willian and Fulham’s Moussa Dembele maintained.

An initial bid worth €14.8 million for the Brazilian has already been rejected, but talks with the Ukrainian club are on-going in the hope a deal can still be struck with the player, who was close to joining Chelsea last January, keen for a fresh challenge in the Premier League. Fulham are resistant to losing Dembele, who effectively has two years to run on his terms at Craven Cottage, though their resolve will be tested with Tottenham to offer potential make-weights – David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas are available.

Tottenham, having sold Luka Modric to Real Madrid for €37.7 million, will continue to press for reinforcements though the trimming of Villas-Boas’s current squad is also set to continue with Van der Vaart close to rejoining his former club, Hamburg.

Talks are under way over a fee for the 29-year-old. The Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, had hoped to secure around €17.6 million for a player signed from Real Madrid two years ago for a little over half that amount but Hamburg are hoping to reach a compromise over the fee at around €12.6million.

Van der Vaart is at the top end of Spurs’ wage structure, on around €88,000-a-week plus bonuses with two years on his contract, but the German club boast a third party investor in Klaus-Michael Kuhne who can help them sign players. The Dutchman, whose wife, Sylvie, still works in Germany, remains a cult hero in Hamburg having played for the club between 2005 and 2008.

Tottenham’s England midfielder, Tom Huddlestone, could still join Stoke City on loan though the clubs may have to reach a compromise over a loan fee after a medical prompted concern over the state of the player’s ankle.

Tottenham’s helter-skelter end to the window could yet prompt them to revive interest in the Internacional striker Leandro Damiao, a move that would cast doubt on Jermain Defoe’s future at the club – though another player in whom Spurs had expressed an interest, the France midfielder Yann M’Vila, is likely to remain at Rennes. The French club have confirmed inquiries but no firm and acceptable offers had been made for the 22-year-old.

“We have had some contact, but not much more than that,” said the Rennes general manager, Pierre Dreossi. “The longer it drags on, the more we think he will stay. We are lucky to have a financial backer who has the means to wait another six months or a year. So if Yann has to stay, then good. We will be stronger with him.”

Chelsea are considering making a final improved offer for Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany international Andre Schurrle ahead of the closure of the transfer window on Friday in a move that, if successful, would take their summer outlay on new players close to €126 million.

The European champions have been lavish spenders having already revamped their forward line with the additions of Eden Hazard (€40.3m), Oscar (€25.1m), Marko Marin (€8.8m) and Victor Moses (€11.3m).

The likes of Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao and Hulk had all been considered only for their clubs to resist Chelsea’s interest. Leverkusen have maintained Schurrle, too, is not available and have already rejected the London club’s initial €20.1 million bid for his services. Yet, at 21, the versatile striker fits Chelsea’s criteria.

Guardian Service