Just when it seemed that the hare was running and the traps were about to fly open, it’s suddenly all gone quiet over there!

Darren Bent’s £17m transfer from Charlton to West Ham was a done deal until someone whispered in his ear that bigger fish were lurking just under the surface. No wonder the Hammers’ Icelandic owner, Eggert Magnusson, is getting all hot under the collar and, without actually saying as much, is wondering whether the good old 'tap' has been turned on.

Anyway it looks as though instead of blowing bubbles down at the Boleyn, Bent is going to be blowing down Robbie Keane’s neck at  White Hart Lane. Jermain Defoe’s, too. All of which leads to another round of speculation about the future of Dimitar Berbatov, rightly acclaimed as the jewel in Tottenham’s crown and the last player Martin Jol would want to part with. If Spurs do decide that 4 first team strikers is too much, Defoe seems the most likely to depart.

'The Hammers’ Icelandic owner Eggert Magnusson is getting all hot under the collar and, without actually saying as much, is wondering whether the good old “tap” has been turned on'


I was staggered in the first place when Bent indicated that he’d be happy to move to West Ham, especially in view of the pending hearing into the Carlos Tevez-Javier Mascherano deal that landed the club in so much hot water and could still see them relegated to the Championship pending the appeal by Sheffield United.

Would the ambitious young Bent have been happy had he signed and then found himself in a lower division? Doubt it very much, and that might have been at the back of his mind when he performed his U-turn.

Now Magnusson seems to be putting his faith in Tevez remaining a Hammer, and by the manner in which the little Argentinian saved the club from relegation almost single-handedly towards the end of last season, that is hardly surprising. His name has been linked with Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan . . . you name them, Tevez has been about to join them.

The collapse of the Bent deal does not, however, explain why the transfer market hasn’t yet opened up the shutters. Apart from Manchester United’s £50m outlay (in various stage payments) for Nani, Anderson and Owen Hargreaves, it’s difficult to spot any significant activity. So where are the big-hitters? Where are all the American dollars?

Of course, many Premiership clubs might be circling to fend off attacks after the publication of the Stevens report last week. They might be doing a double check on some of the agents they have been using or they might be waiting for the early dust to settle. Or maybe they were holding off until La Liga finished up before raiding Spain's shores for talent.

Whatever the reason, it’s all quiet on the big business front, even though two or three clubs threatening to make a move. Martin O’Neill’s hopes of signing Porto defender Bruno Alves have hit the buffers after the player committed himself to a new contract.

News of Chelsea’s decision to offload Shaun Wright-Phillips will surely spark interest as he is available at only half of the £21m they paid for him from Manchester City. Don’t rule out a move back to City, who are ready to turn to former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson as their new manager. The departure of Sylvain Distin to Portsmouth and Joey Barton to Newcastle leaves City short on personalities and, let's be honest, talent.

But across the city, United are threatening another excursion into the market, this time for Eidur Gudjohnsen from Barcelona for about £10m.

Perhaps someone is about to light the blue touchpaper.