Hurry up with a bigger bid, Sam tells Blues

SAM ALLARDYCE has warned Chelsea that they will have to significantly improve their £3 million (€4.5m) bid for Tal Ben Haim if they want to sign him before the end of the transfer window.

The Premiership champions have already failed with one offer for Ben Haim, who missed yesterday’s FA Cup tie with Arsenal due to a calf injury.

There are only three days left of the current transfer window and Allardyce has suggested the Israeli is likely to stay at the Reebok stadium until the summer, when his contract expires.

Chelsea’s chances of securing the defender’s signature have been compromised further by the fact that Phil Gartside, the Bolton chairman, is currently away on business in Australia.

“If a bid comes in tomorrow, it will have to be a big one,” Allardyce said. “It will certainly cost a team much more now than three weeks ago because there’s only a few days left to bring in someone else.

“I think we should have bought a replacement before now but we haven’t so it will be very difficult for us as a football club to say yes to a bid. We have no real defensive cover at the moment because of injuries and certainly, at the prices being speculated at the moment, there’s no way he will go.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger admitted he may be forced into a “panic buy” during the closing hours of the transfer window as injuries mount up for Arsenal.

Substitute Julio Baptista picked up a groin injury which could sideline him for Wednesday’s Carling Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham. With leading scorer Robin van Persie already out for the season and several other first-choice players struggling with injury, Wenger admits he cannot afford to see his squad depleted further.

Asked whether the situation could force his hand in the transfer market, the Arsenal manager said: “I would see that as a panic buy because it was not planned.”

The Gunners now face something of a fixture pile-up given their FA Cup replay is scheduled for February 14 — a date already earmarked for a rearranged Premiership clash with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

With the Champions League campaign also set to resume next month, Wenger said he had to weigh up his options: “I will see when we play and which players I will use, because at the moment it is important not to lose too many players. First, you want your good players to be with you and we do have important games coming up. If we continue to lose players, I’ll have to choose what we go for.”