Blackburn have rejected an undisclosed offer for David Bentley, believed to have been a straight cash offer from Tottenham Hotspur. The Rovers chairman John Williams confirmed that this was the second bid Blackburn have received for Bentley this summer, following an offer from Aston Villa last month.

"We have had bids from two clubs," said Williams. "One came in when Mark Hughes was manager, the other was fairly recent. They have both been rejected."

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph reported this afternoon that the bid came from Tottenham, but that it was worth "significantly less" than Villa's offer had been. Bentley has one year of his current contract and has refused to sign an extension, insisting that he must leave Ewood Park in order to further his international ambitions.

Though he has not attracted interest from the top four clubs, both Tottenham and Villa can offer him Uefa Cup football next season, and Bentley believes the step up may help him cement a place in Fabio Capello's England side for the forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign. It looked at one stage last season that Bentley had been earmarked for the right-sided midfield role but a combination of David Beckham's form and Capello's strategy in attack has made such a scenario appear less certain.