Manchester City have joined Aston Villa in the chase for Spurs' £3million-rated centre-back Anthony Gardner.
But with Younes Kaboul joining Ledley King, Michael Dawson and Ricardo Rocha at White Hart Lane, and Curtis Davies still strongly linked with a move, it seems Gardner will now be allowed to leave.
Villa had appeared favourites to land the lanky defender, but the Daily Mail reports new City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson - who gave Gardner an England cap in 2004 - sees the former Port Vale man as a possible replacement for Sylvain Distin, who left Eastlands for Portsmouth earlier this summer.
