Spurs miss out with bid for Capel

Sevilla have rejected an offer from Tottenham for highly-rated winger Diego Capel, according to the Spanish club.

The 20-year-old has a clause in his contract allowing him to speak to other teams if a certain bid is received.

However, as that only applies to Spanish sides, Sevilla were able to knock back the interest of the Barclays Premier League club, now managed by their former boss Juande Ramos.

Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido said on the club's official website, www.sevillafc.es: "He [Capel] has a clause in his contract which is only valid for a Spanish team.

"We do not negotiate with any figure less than that.

"Tottenham made a superior bid and we said no."

Ramos - who left Sevilla for White Hart Lane in October 2007 - has already started his team building for next season, following the £16.5million capture of Croatia midfielder Luca Modric.

England squad man Tom Huddlestone has been signed up on a new five-year contract, while Italian youth goalkeeper Mirko Ranieri has arrived from Perugia to join the Spurs academy.

Ramos continues to maintain he has no interest in offloading any of his first-team squad, but the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and one-time record signing Darren Bent are said to be high on the wanted list of other Premier League clubs.

Striker Robbie Keane, meanwhile, has been linked with a move to Liverpool, which could involve a cash-plus-player deal for Peter Crouch.