LEICESTER City are set to pip West Bromwich Albion in the chase for Blackburn Rovers striker Graham Fenton, after agreeing a £1.1 million deal.

The figure is £100,000 more than West Brom were going to pay for the out-of-favour striker whose projected move to the Hawthorns has dragged on now for around a week.

Fenton had been due to take medicals in Birmingham yesterday but that didn't happen and it now seems unlikely that he will attend talks with West Brom, scheduled for later this afternoon.

Instead, Leicester confirmed that he would be at Filbert Street to discuss personal terms.

Leicester tried to sign Fenton once before, when Mark McGhee was in charge. But his club at the time, Aston Villa, refused permission for them to speak to him.

Fenton is expected to jump at the chance of staying in the Premiership with Leicester, rather than dropping down a division to join West Brom, where ex-Rovers manager Ray Harford - who signed him from Aston Villa - is the manager.

Leicester are also understood to be ready to bring back former West Ham and Everton striker Tony Cottee from the Far East in a surprise transfer swoop.

Ewood boss Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, has a number of fitness problems to weigh up before naming his team to face Derby on Saturday, not least in the centre of defence.

Henning Berg damaged ankle fibres on international duty, while Colin Hendry has had two operations this summer.

But neither has yet been counted out of Saturday's opening game against Derby, with Hendry playing 65 minutes in a closed doors workout against a Liverpool side and coming through without problems.

It remains to be seen whether the Derby game has come just a little too soon for him or not. It would be a major boost if he was given the all-clear but he will be short on match fitness.

Meanwhile, there have been more internal problems for transfer-listed Graeme Le Saux, who is expected to line up for Rovers against Derby. The full back is believed to have had an angry verbal confrontation at the training ground with assistant manager Tony Parkes, who left him out of the side last season at a time when the player's performances had dipped.

It is not thought the incident was serious enough to warrant disciplinary action and I understand it was the sort of clash which happens regularly at most clubs. But, as it concerned the England man who is desperate for a move, receives a higher profile.

Parkes would only say: "Whatever happens at the training ground is a private matter."

Martin Dahlin scored the winning goal for Sweden last night as they beat Lithuania 1-0 in Malmo.

The striker has played only one and a half matches for Rovers in the build-up to the season and manager Roy Hodgson must decide whether he is fit enough to start against Derby.

Hodgson will also be hoping that Anders Andersson and Stephane Henchoz return injury-free from international duty with Sweden and Switzerland respectively.

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