PORTSMOUTH are hopeful of luring Peter Crouch away from a possible move to Turf Moor.
The big striker is on his way out of Queens Park Rangers and Burnley are among those who have shown their hand.
The Clarets are thought to have been in negotiations for the six feet, five inch former Spurs front man who is rated at £1.5 million.
Portsmouth have also lodged a bid of that figure with the Loftus Road club which was relegated from Division One at the end of last season.
And having had two rounds of talks with Crouch, the Fratton Park outfit hope to have stolen a march in the race to sign the in-demand player.
"We are working very hard to make things happen, although I don't want to say too much until a deal is done," said Pompey boss Graham Rix.
However, new director of football Harry Redknapp warned that with so much competition for Crouch's signature the move is far from done and dusted.
"There are other teams interested in Peter Crouch and we have a lot of work to do before we think of signing him," said Redknapp.
Crouch, who was Rangers' top-scorer and most effective player in a troubled season for the club, looks an exciting prospect and is also believed to have attracted interest from the Premiership.
The 20-year-old was born in Macclesfield but whether he is keen on a return north after spening all his career to date in London remains to be seen.
Burnley's home clash against Manchester City on Bank Holiday Monday, August 27 has been selected for live coverage on ITV Sport and will kick-off at 6.15pm.
And the Clarets trip to Bradford City has also been moved back 24 hours to Sunday, September 2 to avoid clashing with England's international against Germany.
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