Agent: 'Two or three' teams chasing Crouch

The Russian has never been able to nail down a regular first-team place at White Hart Lane limited under Harry Redknapp, but England international Crouch has been linked with Stoke, Sunderland and Everton in recent weeks.

And with the club looking to bring in new players as they push for a return to the Champions League, it is reported Redknapp will sell at least one forward to raise funds.

But agent Oleg Artemov believes his client is not at the bottom of the pecking order, and claims he is waiting to sit down with chairman Daniel Levy to discuss a new contract for the former Spartak Moscow star.

He said in the Daily Star: "I expect to talk nearer to the transfer window's closing time.

“At the moment he [Levy] is too busy. He needs to sell players and to buy new ones.

“Two or three teams are interested in Peter Crouch. So he is most likely to be the one of the five Spurs attackers to leave."

Pavlyuchenko, 29, has played 99 times for Spurs, scoring 38 goals during his three seasons at the club. In comparison, Crouch has scored 24 goals in 82 matches since joining from Portsmouth in 2009.

By Josh Robbins