Tottenham Hotspur look to be in a battle to keep the services of Michael Carrick, and look set to reject a £10m offer from Manchester United for the England and former West Ham midfielder.

Although neither club have confirmed the bid, it is widely believed that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has targeted the talented midfielder, who is currently on duty with the England squad in Germany with the Three Lions World Cup squad.

It has been reported that an offer was faxed from Old Trafford to White Hart Lane on Friday, making the offer for Carrick.

However, Spurs boss Martin Jol is keen on keeping the 25-year-old, and it seems Ferguson will have to substantially increase his initial offer if he is to stand any chance of luring Carrick to Manchester.

Tottenham managed to sign Carrick from West Ham for only £2.75million in August 2004, and any move would see Jol hoping to receive a figure in the region of £14m for him.

It has been said that the only room for negotiation is if Manchester United would be willing to include Holland striker Ruud van Nistelrooy in an exchange deal.

Jol is a known admirer of the Oranje striker, and it has already been suggested he might make an £8m offer of his own for the former PSV Eindhoven star, who fell out of grace with the Man Utd boss so publicly at the end of the season.

Whether Tottenham - who cannot offer Champions League competition next season - would appeal to Van Nistelrooy is another matter entirely, particularly with the interest from Italian giants AC Milan.

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