Tom Huddlestone is close to £5m move north

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11 July 2013

Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone is on the verge of joining Sunderland after the two clubs agreed a £5million fee.

Fulham were also looking to buy the 26-year-old after Spurs made him available for transfer this summer but Sunderland are the ones that have been prepared to meet the asking price.

They have been given permission to discuss personal terms and Standard Sport understands Huddlestone will have to take a pay cut to move to the Stadium of Light.

He is believed to be on around £40,000 a week at White Hart Lane but Sunderland are only prepared to pay the England international (above) £35,000 a week. There are also concerns that Huddlestone will struggle to pass his medical having suffered a major ankle injury two years ago.

But he was able to make 28 appearances for Spurs last term and hopes the move will be able to go ahead as planned. The club are looking to let several more players leave to make room for further arrivals, including Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.

They have only signed Brazil midfielder Paulinho so far but coach Andre Villas-Boas continues to be interested in Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen.

Spurs had been facing competition from Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund but the latter have pulled out of the race after completing a deal for Shakhtar Donetsk star Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Eriksen’s agent, Martin Schoots, has confirmed he is in talks with teams who are interested in the 21-year-old. He said: “We are still keeping in touch with certain clubs. That will always be the case with a player like Christian. It is hard to tell if it will end up with a transfer.”

But Valencia have told Spurs that striker Roberto Soldado is not for sale, while they’re also going to miss out on both Dinamo Zagreb youngsters Tin Jedvaj and Alen Halilovic.

They had agreed a £17m fee for the duo but Jedvaj is now in talks with Roma and the latter’s family pulled out of the deal.

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Tom Huddlestone is close to £5m move north

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