Spurs want Chelsea to pay up

Tottenham will today lodge a formal complaint with the Premier League claiming Chelsea illegally approached Frank Arnesen.

Although Chelsea are prepared to pay £2 million in compensation to Spurs to secure Arnesen's move to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham are believed to want at least five times that amount.

The club believes their sporting director, who is poised to become head of scouting and youth development at Chelsea, is more valuable than any of their players.

It leaves the Premiership champions facing a second tapping-up probe, just days after the club and manager Jose Mourinho were fined £500,000 for illegally approaching Ashley Cole.

But if the League launches a new inquiry and eventually finds aganst Chelsea, the approach to Arnesen will not trigger the suspended three points penalty imposed for their conduct in the Cole case.

That applies only to another breach of Premier League rule K3, covering illegal approaches to players, rather than U10, which covers approaches to other club staff.

Tottenham say they still want Chelsea to face a points deduction and are also considering legal action against the Dane for breach of contract.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has spent the last two weeks trying to persuade Arnesen to stay, offering him a new pay package of more than £1 million a year. But It is thought Chelsea have offered him around £2.5 million a year.