Chelsea and Liverpool are going head-to-head over £15 million Blackburn Rovers winger David Bentley.

The Times says Bentley has attracted attention from several leading Barclays Premier League clubs, with Newcastle United also interested, but Chelsea have the resources to beat their rivals to the England player's signature if they choose to follow up their initial interest.

The Blues would have no problem matching Blackburn's £15 million valuation and could treble Bentley's wages to £60,000 a week, which would be more of a problem for Liverpool, given their budgetary restraints and uncertainty over the club's ownership.