Blackburn Rovers are chasing Tottenham midfielder David Bentley.

Even though he was not in charge at the time, Sam Allardyce is well aware of Bentley's success at Ewood the first time around, says the Lancashire Telegraph.

The former Arsenal youngster became a regular in the England squad and was labelled 'the new David Beckham' for a period after his fine performances for Rovers, before opting to join boyhood club Tottenham in an attempt to progress his career.

That did not work out and Harry Redknapp is expected to be willing to part with Bentley in January - with reports suggesting Spurs may decide to loan him out for a fee of £1m if a permanent sale would result in too great a loss on the £15m they paid for the right footer.

Rovers could face serious competition, however, with Aston Villa, Fulham, Sunderland, Birmingham, Everton and Galatasaray also among those to be linked.