The Saturday papers speculate over where Peter Crouch will be playing his football at the end of the transfer window.

The Independent make Sunderland the marginal favourites. Crouch is said to have been impressed with the set-up at the Stadium of Light and held positive talks with a cautiously confident Steve Bruce. Mere geography alone will not sway the England striker’s decision. The prospect of Tottenham making a late bid for their former trainee might make things a little more complicated, as Crouch would presumably by tempted to team up with his former manager Harry Redknapp.

The Daily Star rather bluntly contradicts the Indy by saying that Fulham have now matched Sunderland’s £12m offer, but goes into little detail about our negotiations with Crouch and you get the sense that they were deliberately low-key.

The striker should make his decision early next week.