No bargains yet at Leeds' sale

Leeds are demanding a double-your-money offer from Tottenham for Paul Robinson and James Milner as the cash-strapped club are refusing to let any of their stars leave on the cheap.

Acting-chairman and chief executive Trevor Birch today turned down a £5m (€7.3m) bid from Spurs for the duo, despite the fact Leeds need that figure to see them through to the end of the season.

With Leeds’ most-highly paid players refusing on Tuesday to accept a wage deferral – rejecting an initial 35% cut and then a later offer of 30% – it was expected Birch would be forced to sell to raise the necessary cash.

Although Arsenal and Newcastle have been linked with a £5m (€7.3m) move for United’s most-bankable asset in Alan Smith, Birch has today reiterated the striker is not for sale.

It would appear Birch is ready to dig his heels in and fight for the club’s future for he has long stated the sale of any further top names would undermine Leeds’ battle against relegation from the Barclaycard Premiership.

A source has revealed to the Press Association that Birch wants £10m (€14.5m) for England international goalkeeper Robinson and teenage winger Milner.

While Spurs are prepared to increase their offer to around £6m (€8.7m), Leeds’ demands are too rich for chairman Daniel Levy’s blood, and likely to be for many other clubs who had perhaps been hoping to cherry-pick the cream of the crop at knock-down prices.

In a bid to cut costs and save Leeds falling into administration on Monday when a deadline extension to the ‘standstill agreement’ with the club’s creditors expires, Birch had been hoping to terminate the contracts of Zoumana Camara and Didier Domi.

But Camara and Domi have refused to sign papers allowing the club to cancel their season-long deals from Lens and Paris St Germain respectively.

Agent Willie Mackay confirmed: “There was no negotiating. The hammer simply came down from Trevor Birch.

“Under his instructions, he sent in (caretaker-manager) Eddie Gray and secretary Ian Silvester to ask them to sign these papers releasing them from their contracts.

“They refused because at the end of the day, if a club takes a player on loan for a season, then they have him for that season.

“There was no guarantee if they had signed (the release forms) that either PSG or Lens would have taken them back and paid them.

“If we wanted we could take this to the French Football Federation, the Football Association and FIFA because these are international transfers.

“They are Leeds United players this year. They have an obligation to pay them like everybody else.

“It’s all very messy and it smacks of desperation to me. Leeds have gone the wrong way about things.”

Mackay has dropped a further bombshell on Birch and Leeds with the news that Lamine Sakho and Salomon Olembe are to leave before the close of the transfer window at the end of the month.

Gray had been hoping to keep the two summer loan signings from Marseille, who are currently on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal and Cameroon respectively.

But Mackay has negotiated transfers for the duo when they return from Tunisia, with Olembe poised to join Blackburn, while another – as yet unnamed - Premiership club are to sign Sakho.

“I have lined up deals for both players and they will be moving before the end of the transfer window,” confirmed Mackay.

“Although they are both in Tunisia for the African Nations Cup, I don’t see a problem with either deal.”

One player definitely leaving Leeds is Roque Junior, who has today agreed to have his contract terminated, with the AC Milan defender now likely to join Hamburg.

There is also interest from Italy for the Brazil international, who proved a misfit in his short spell with Leeds, and whose last appearance was in early November as he then spent two months on the sidelines with an Achilles injury.

Agent Alessandro Lucci said: “There are two or three interesting offers for the player. Siena are one of the interested parties and I can confirm that Perugiaare another.”

All this on a day when the Leeds players tried to distance themselves from the row surrounding their failure to defer their wages which has left the fans fuming.

With the supporters turning on the stars they have backed to the hilt this season, the players have issued a statement in a bid to diffuse the fallout.

The players are adamant they are united behind Birch, however, he is known to have been bitterly disappointed with the stance they adopted earlier this week.

The players would appear to be trying to curry favour with the supporters, who are unlikely to be swayed until the moment they do agree to a wage deferral.

The statement read: “We wish to make it clear that we are fully behind the club and are working with Trevor Birch and the Professional Footballers Association in the hope of solving the problems.

“Some of the reports we have read in the newspapers are wrong. We are together as a team and no decision has yet been made one way or the other on whether to defer a percentage of our wages.

“We have said that we will be prepared to support the club, should it be required.”