As we’ve learnt this summer, a player wanting to leave a football club does not mean it’s going to happen. After all, unless they are out of contract (in which case the world is their oyster), a bidder has to meet their current club’s valuation. In the case of Blackburn and David Bentley, it’s nothing short of a staggering £18million to acquire his services.

The Daily Telegraph report that while Rovers chairman John Williams accepts that it’s a big old ask to persuade the winger to stick around at the Lancashire club, it will require Tottenham or Aston Villa or whoever to stump up with the readies before the England man heads off into the sunset. It has been though that the above clubs have offered somewhere in the region of £10m, just a tad short of what Blackburn are after!

He said: “We don’t want to lose David but if we do get a bid that meets our valuation then ultimately it comes down to a football decision from the manager Paul Ince.

“We have received two bids but neither has come anywhere close to our valuation, which is based in line with how we see the market.”

Villa and Spurs might be more cash-rich if they end up flogging the likes of Barry, Berbatov and Keane, although whether that means they will up the ante by around £8 million is another matter. The 23-year-old has had a couple of decent seasons for Rovers, although we have seen players like Lennon and SWP shine in the Premier League only for their career to go backwards.

Just where will David Bentley start next season?