Tottenham have been left stunned after Manchester City manager Mark Hughes stopped Vedran Corluka's transfer to White Hart Lane.

Spurs had agreed an £8million fee with the City hierarchy and also fixed personal terms with the Croatia defender. They hoped to announce the transfer over the weekend after the 22-year-old passed his medical at the end of last week, but Hughes stepped in to block the deal.

He said: "I am a huge admirer of Vedran. He is a topclass player with a bright future and I am delighted he continues to be a part of our plans."

It is a huge blow to Spurs, who are short of cover at the back with just six days to go before their first game at Middlesbrough. Younes Kaboul is set to complete his £6m move to Portsmouth today leaving head coach Juane Ramos without many options should Michael Dawson or Jonathan Woodgate get injured.

Captain Ledley King came on as a substitute in the 5-0 win against Roma yesterday but is not expected to be available for every match this season.

David Bentley enjoyed a dream White Hart Lane debut as he opened the scoring within two minutes direct from a free-kick and scored again in first-half stoppage time. Darren Bent also netted twice and Aaron Lennon completed the rout.