Fulham Sign Southampton Defender Chris Baird

Tottenham today moved ahead of Sevilla in the race to sign the Hertha Berlin midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng after the Bundesliga club accepted a bid for the player.

Sevilla had been the first club to register an interest in the 20-year-old, lodging a £2.7m bid last week. However, Tottenham, who have already spent around £30m in the transfer market this summer, have since weighed in with a reported £5.4m offer in a bid to gazump the Uefa Cup holders.

"The offer from Sevilla never interested us," said the Hertha general manager Dieter Hoeness. "It was not enough, so we turned it down. We have accepted the offer from England and now the club and the player must reach an agreement."

Boateng admits he was preparing himself for a move to Spain, but concedes that Sevilla's capture of Lens midfielder Seydou Keita earlier this week, coupled with Tottenham's interest, has prompted a rethink. "We were quite advanced with Sevilla," he told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. "I have heard that Keita is joining, so I don't know if that has any effect on me. The Premier League is actually my dream league and now I am thinking about Tottenham."

Boateng has made 43 first-team appearances in two years with Hertha, scoring four goals, and earned his first cap for Germany's Under-21s against England last October.

Fulham have signed the Southampton defender Chris Baird for £3.025m. The Northern Ireland international has agreed a four-year deal at Craven Cottage. Baird has risen through the ranks at Southampton and, after loans at Walsall and Watford, established himself in the first team under manager George Burley. He has earned 25 caps for Northern Ireland since 2003, most of them during the Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez's time in charge of the national team.

"I'm delighted that Chris has chosen to join Fulham despite interest shown by other clubs," said Sanchez. "I am well aware of Chris's attributes as a player from my time with Northern Ireland and his qualities and versatility will be a major asset for the club next season. Winning the Southampton player of the season award last year is testament to his continued progress and development, which I have seen first hand at international level."

Baird had attracted interest from Sunderland and his decision to go to Fulham is another snub for Roy Keane after David Nugent chose Portsmouth over a move to the Stadium of Light yesterday.

Earlier, versatile attacking midfielder Lee McCulloch expressed his delight at completing his transfer from Wigan to Rangers. "It has been long overdue," he said. "I'm delighted to be here and I'm looking forward to the challenge."