Spartak Moscow and Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, a rumoured target of Tottenham Hotspur, has somewhat dampened speculation by suggesting he would prefer a move to city rivals Arsenal or Chelsea…

The Russian starred for his country in qualifying, in a memorable cameo coming off the bench that saw him net a brace and go a long way towards preventing England from qualifying for the Austria-Switzerland showpiece.

And when the tournament dawned, the imposing striker was his side’s top scorer with three goals and impressed many clubs across Europe, including Barcelona, Milan and Tottenham.

“I love the Premier League and I would certainly like to play there. However, if I go to England, I would want to play for Arsenal or Chelsea,” he revealed.

“Tottenham’s offer is not the only one we have received. Some Spanish clubs have put down their interest and Italy also has a top-class league.”

Ref From Chet Winter, Goal.com

Zenit St Petersburg are thought to be demanding £19 million for tar player Andrei Arshavin and Tottenham Hotspur close in on a record deal…

The Lilywhites lost vice-captain Robbie Keane to Liverpool last week and remain braced for the reality that Dimitar Berabatov may yet follow him out of the exit door, to Liverpool’s rivals Manchester United.

As such, despite the recent acquisition of David Bentley, another forward is thought to be in demand at White Hart Lane, with Arshavin the club’s top priority.

They are thought to have been rejected in bids for David Villa of Valencia and Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and recently pulled out of negotiations for Diego Milito of Real Zaragoza, who suffered a shock relegation to the Segunda Division last season.

Arshavin, 27, rose to prominence in Zenit’s UEFA Cup campaign, sparkling in the final then going to Euro 2008 with Russia, orchestrating wins over Sweden and the Netherlands to propel him to unprecedented levels of stardom for Russian football. Despite earning a handsome salary at his hometown club, the player has stated his desire to leave for one of Europe’s more recognised leagues - solely for footballing purposes - and the club have recognised his wish.

However, a muted showing in the semi-final against eventual Euro winners Spain saw interest cool in the tricky forward and several of the big clubs that had been linked - such as Chelsea, Milan and the player’s favourite, Barcelona - have all pulled out of the running.

The player’s agent initially insisted his client would only move to England for one of the Big Four, but following Barcelona’s solitary bid of just €15 million that was immediately rejected, they pulled out of the race, Chelsea are continuing to push for Robinho, Milan opted for Ronaldinho and the likes of Arsenal and Inter appear to have other priorities in the transfer market.

As such, Tottenham’s interest appears the most attractive for the forward at this moment and over the last week, speculation has heightened that a deal will be completed.

The player is rumoured to have agreed a deal worth around £100,000-a-week to sign on at White Hart Lane, following Spurs sporting director Damien Comolli’s visit to Russia.

Ref From Chet Winter, Goal.com

VfB Stuttgart have confirmed that they turned down a Bundesliga record bid of €25 million from Bayern Munich for star striker Mario Gomez…

The powerful striker has had sensational back-to-back seasons with Stuttgart and has been linked with clubs all around Europe, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Roma.

However, a poor Euro 2008 - his first showing on the big stage - cooled much interest from around Europe, but Bayern Munich remained in the hunt to lure yet another striker to the Allianz Arena, where they already have Lucas Podolski, Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose.

Bayern have inisted that they are not yet out of the hunt and will swoop for Super Mario next year. Stuttgart, meanwhile, are satisfied to have maintained their stance.

“We didn’t want any team’s money,” said Stuttgart manager Horst Heldt. “We wanted to keep Germany’s player of the year.”

Ref From Hans Schmidt, Goal.com