Tottenham boss Glenn Hoddle faces a race against time to secure the services of Bolton's Michael Ricketts after Trotters manager Sam Allardyce said he wouldn't let the striker go until he had signed a replacement.

Ricketts has made no secret of his desire to join Tottenham but with the midnight transfer deadline looming this evening, sources close to Wanderers believe the deal could go right down to the wire.

Bolton had been sticking to their initial valuation of the player at £6million but, with time running out, are now prepared to let Ricketts go in a cut-price deal.

Allardyce said earlier this week: "If I don't get anyone in in the meantime Michael does not go.

"The deadline for him moving is Wednesday, unless I get someone in before, because there will be no time after that for me to replace him."

But with the Trotters' talks with Valencia forward Salva Ballesta at an advanced stage yesterday, the prospects of Ricketts playing in a Tottenham shirt were not completely out of the question.

Hoddle said he was still hopeful of adding to his squad after completing the signing of Japanese star Kazuyuki Toda on a 12-month loan last week. Although not naming Ricketts as his intended target, he said the club were working hard to bring a new face in.

"We are working extremely hard at the moment like a lot of clubs are. It's very difficult out there, I keep saying it but it really is. The game has changed," he told the club's web site.

"We're running out of time and it is a close call. We're delighted to get one player in. Two would be smashing and would give everybody a lift."

January 29, 2003 19:30