Tottenham chase Routledge

Tottenham face a three-way battle with Birmingham and one other Premiership club to sign Wayne Routledge.

Spurs have enquired about the Crystal Palace winger, one of their primary targets in the transfer window, who they hope to land for a knockdown £1.5 million.

That figure falls well short of Palace's £4m valuation and is less than the £3m they offered for Routledge last August.

But the market conditions have changed since the summer following the 20-year-old's decision to reject a new five-year deal at Selhurst Park.

With the player's existing contract due to expire at the end of the season, Palace risk losing him to a tribunal-fixed fee if they do not sell now. Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who accepts the club have little chance of keeping Routledge, is ready to listen to offers.

Bob Dowie, the club's director of football, said: "We had an enquiry from Spurs and they asked to be kept informed of Wayne's situation."