Defoe seeks contract talks with Spurs as Hammers prepare £12m bid

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The England international is ready to heed the advice offered by former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand and turn down the chance to join either West Ham, Aston Villa or Portsmouth because it would be moving a rung down the professional ladder.

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Ready to talk: Jermain Defoe

Hammers boss Alan Curbishley is happy to splash out £12million to take Defoe back to Upton Park while Aston Villa would love him to play alongside John Carew.

Harry Redknapp, who was in charge at West Ham when Defoe was rising spectacularly through the ranks, wants to take him to current club Portsmouth but does not have the financial muscle to make a suitable bid.

Spurs want to heat up the competition for places in their strikeforce by signing England international Darren Bent from Charlton.

But Ferdinand told Sportsmail that Defoe would be foolish to leave N17 even though he has to fight Robbie Keane for a place in Martin Jol's attack because Tottenham are on the brink of enjoying major Premiership and cup success.

The 24-year-old forward, who scored 18 times last term and impressed Jol with his professional approach, has two years left on his current deal and may now sit down with Spurs to thrash out new terms.

He knows Tottenham may have to sell him if he does not start negotiations with the club because his value will start to drop once the season starts and his current deal begins to run down.

Meanwhile, fellow Spurs striker Mido could be on his way to Birmingham in a £4m deal. The Egypt forward scored just five times last season after chances were limited following the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov.

But Mido fired home 11 Premiership goals when he led the Tottenham front line in 2005-06 and Blues boss Steve Bruce believes that is the firepower needed to keep the Midlands club in the top flight following their promotion from the Premiership.