Birmingham balk at £13m for Roman Pavlyuchenko of Tottenham Hotspur

Birmingham City have refused to meet Tottenham Hotspur's £13m asking price for Roman Pavlyuchenko and will turn their attention elsewhere if the London club refuse to negotiate. Tottenham have demanded £10m up front and another £3m in add-ons, with the total cost of the package rising to £23m when the Russian striker's wages over a three-and-a-half year contract are taken into account. Carson Yeung has vowed to spend money this month but Birmingham's owner believes Tottenham's valuation of a player who has failed to make a Premier League start this season to be excessive. Birmingham have made a revised offer and are hopeful that middle ground can be found before the transfer window closes on Monday. Tottenham, however, have a reputation for playing hardball in such situations and Birmingham may have to pursue other targets. The Midlands club are in talks with Lens about signing Aruna Dindane. The Ivory Coast striker spent the first half of the season on loan at Portsmouth and a price of £4m was agreed to make the move permanent but financial problems at ­Fratton Park mean Lens are now open to other offers. Pavlyuchenko remains Alex McLeish's preferred target. The striker was on the Scot's radar when the manager took over at St Andrew's but plans to move for him were shelved when Birmingham were ­relegated. "He would be good for us here," said McLeish. "We are also looking at ­others, but if we get a breakthrough on him then that would be great. He moves well, he keeps the ball, technically is good and is a great finisher." Yeung was due to arrive in England last night and is expected to discuss Pavlyuchenko with McLeish this morning. Although Peter Pannu, Birmingham's vice-chairman, has been handling transfer negotiations, Yeung's approval is necessary before any deal can be agreed and it may be that tomorrow's fixture between Birmingham and Tottenham offers an ideal opportunity for all parties to talk. The Birmingham owner is an admirer of Pavlyuchenko but he is adamant he will not be held to ransom. Although keen to strengthen the squad, Yeung believes there is no desperate need to spend because Birmingham are safe from relegation. McLeish's players, however, appear to have other ideas. "When you get your own players asking when are you going to bring in a new striker, you know they need help," said the Birmingham manager. The Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, confirmed he had agreed a deal to sign Eidur ­Gudjohnsen on loan from Monaco until the end of the season: "He can play several positions for us, he can play in a midfield or attacking midfield role if we want to change our system. We've lost Aaron Lennon [to injury] so we haven't got a great deal of width. We can play a diamond formation if we want to and he can be a big player in that system."