Liverpool have reacted to the appointment of Terry Venables at Leeds United by making an official, £9 million approach for Lee Bowyer which is almost certain to prise the midfielder away from Elland Road.

The Leeds hierarchy have provisionally accepted the bid and will allow Bowyer to have talks at Anfield, possibly at the weekend, unless Venables is able to convince the controversial, yet talented, player to pledge his future to his current employers.

Venables may be powerless to prevent the departure of one of the club's most influential players. Whereas the new manager has been encouraged by the initial noises from Rio Ferdinand's camp that he may be willing to prolong his career at Elland Road despite the continuing interest from Manchester United, Bowyer's agent, David Geiss, confirmed last night that his client was still adamant about leaving.

Although he is not willing to go public with his grievances, Bowyer's relationship with the Leeds chairman, Peter Ridsdale, is known to have deteriorated in the wake of the player's court case and the unsuccessful contract negotiations which culminated in him being transfer-listed at the end of last season.

Venables, under immediate pressure to recoup about £15 million in transfers, would much rather sell Bowyer than Ferdinand, the club's player of the season and captain. Whereas Venables has wasted little time stating his intentions to reject Alex Ferguson's interest in Ferdinand, even contacting the player's advisers over the weekend from his holiday villa in Spain, Bowyer's camp has yet to hear anything from the former England coach.

After being unveiled at a press conference at Elland Road this afternoon, Venables will meet the club's plc board to discuss their transfer strategy before the new season. He intends to ease the club's debts by selling four or five fringe players and, however much he may want to keep a footballer of Bowyer's pedigree, he and the directors are aware that the midfielder will be a free agent next summer, so his value is decreasing all the time.

If Bowyer is determined to end his turbulent, six-year spell in west Yorkshire, it may also suit Venables to sell the 25-year-old, knowing it will enhance his chances of persuading the Leeds board not to cash in on Ferdinand. That, in turn, would immediately ingratiate the new manager with the Leeds fans.

Venables flew to Yorkshire yesterday and last night had talks with the coaches, Brian Kidd, Eddie Gray and Roy Aitken, about the roles, if any, they will play next season.

Kidd is expected to take charge of the club's pre-season trip to China, Australia and Thailand, starting on July 21st, while Venables returns to what has been described as a "working holiday" in Spain.

Venables might be keen to resume his working relationship with Bryan Robson, his former colleague with Middlesbrough and England, but last season Robson became an increasingly prominent figure at Manchester United's training ground.

Liverpool, meanwhile, made their first signing of the summer. The France under-20 midfielder Alou Diarra has joined on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. The club have also lined up a bid for French striker Bruno Cheyrou and hope to unveil him as a Liverpool player in the coming days.

Guardian Service