Spurs close in on Arshavin

Russian striker Andrei Arshavin is close to signing for Tottenham after his club Zenit St Petersburg agreed to lower their original 20 million pound asking price.

Arshavin, encouraged by a conversation with head coach Juande Ramos, is willing to join Spurs after initially declaring Barcelona as his preferred destination.

Spurs are in the market for strikers following the departure of Robbie Keane to Liverpool and Dimitar Berbatov wanting to leave White Hart Lane for Manchester United.

Arshavin would be seen as a like-for-like replacement for Keane.

“There are only small differences left,” Zenit sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya told Sovetsky Sport, who suggested a deal could be concluded over the weekend.

“Zenit have decided to reduce the asking price for Andrei, but exactly how much I cannot say because the negotiations were led by Zenit president Alexander Dyukov.”

Berbatov has told Spurs officials he wants to leave for United but a fee being agreed between the clubs has not been announced.

The Bulgaria striker, 27, has been in training with Spurs all week and was scheduled to travel with the squad to Middlesbrough for their Premier League opener at the Riverside.

Should Berbatov leave, Ramos would be left with Darren Bent as his only out-and-out striker, with new signing Giovani dos Santos as possible support for the attack.

Ramos has also been linked earlier in the summer with a move for Arshavin's Russia team-mate Roman Pavlyuchenko. and Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz has also been suggested as a possible target.