AC Milan interested in Portsmouth's Peter Crouch

Portsmouth are close to selling Peter Crouch but are waiting for a formal offer from the club the striker wants to join - AC Milan.

Milan have declared their interest in the England striker but have not made a written bid. Sources close to the Italian giants claim it will be tabled this week.

Sunderland have set the standard in bids for the marksman. They have offered £14million, and are ahead of Fulham in the Premier League bidding war.

Cash-strapped Pompey accept Crouch will be moving on. A deal is expected to be ratified in the next fortnight.

The proposed takeover of the club by Sulaiman al Fahim has still to be completed, leaving Pompey's finances in limbo.

The Fratton Park club's financial woes have been highlighted by a letter sent to players and members of the management who were due contractual bonuses recently.

Those payments have been deferred until later in the summer. That will affect some star names who are due loyalty payments. And executive chairman Peter Storrie, along with manager Paul Hart and coach Brian Kidd, were also due bonuses that have now been shelved until later in the summer.

It's not the first time Pompey have asked staff to be patient about their bonus entitlements but the club's inability to plan for the new campaign is becoming an issue inside Fratton Park.

With Glen Johnson (left) sold to Liverpool in a £17m deal and Crouch on his way out, players will want to know who the new recruits are.

After the traumas of last season's relegation battle in which Hart, their third boss of the campaign, guided Pompey to safety, there is a desire for stability inside the club.

Resolving the ownership of the club will be the start of that process but chairman Storrie and Hart - if he remains manager - recognise they will quickly need to unveil their strategies for the new campaign.

Marcus Berg, the top scorer in this summer's European Under-21 Championship, is heading to the Premier League in a £10million deal.

The Sweden international, who plays for Dutch club Groningen, is wanted by Aston Villa and Tottenham.

Groningen manager Hans Nijland said: "Soren Lerby, the agent of Marcus Berg, has informed us there is a really serious interest from two clubs in the Premier League.

"We have his replacement already lined up."

Berg scored 32 goals in 56 matches for Groningen and he won the Golden boot at the Under21 championships.

Arsenal are ready to move for Fiorentina midfield player Felipe Melo this week - and central defender Philippe Senderos is set to go to Italy as a makeweight in the deal.

Brazilian Melo has been on the wish list of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for six months.

The 26-year-old international - who played in every game of Brazil's recent Confederations Cup triumph in South Africa - is valued at £10million and Wenger has not baulked at that price.

Melo signed a year's extension to his contract at Fiorentina last week but that has not dissuaded Wenger.

He wants his man as the midfield minder for Francesc Fabregas and may sound out Fiorentina about taking Swiss international Senderos as part of the move.

Senderos is back at Arsenal after a loan spell with AC Milan.

The Italians opted not to make the move permanent but it is evident that Senderos's chances at the Emirates will be limited.

A move to Fiorentina would suit both Arsenal and the player and Arsenal would need to pay £5m in cash to get Melo should Senderos agree to go back to Italy.

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