SUNDERLAND LAUNCH AMBITIOUS BID FOR GREEN

AMBITIOUS Steve Bruce will make a January move for Robert Green.

Sunderland boss Bruce is set to offer £6million to take West Ham's England keeper to the Stadium of Light.

And insiders believe the Hammers face an uphill fight to hold off their Premier League rivals.

Bruce will give the biggest indication yet of the size of the Black Cats' intentions when the transfer window opens and he attempts to sign the 29- year-old.

The cash-strapped Hammers have been forced to sell key players in recent transfer windows, with James Collins moving to Aston Villa at the end of August.

While there is no immediate threat of aministration, West Ham will have no funds to operate in the window unless they sell.

Green and fellow England star Matthew Upson would bring in the biggest amount of cash and it would be almost impossible for Gianfranco Zola to turn down offers.

West Ham will demand at least £8m but Sunderland bosses have proven already in recent big-money deals that they have the negotiating tools to get that figure down.

The only hope West Ham have of staving off the Premier League predators is to find a buyer for the club.

And there was good news on that front when club chiefs this week signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Intermarket Group.

West Ham have been convinced the consortium have the funds to make a realistic offer in the region of £100m.

Intermarket Group, led by Wall Street mogul Jim Bowe have now entered into the first stage of due diligence and will decide in a fortnight whether to make a firm bid for the Hammers. Meanwhile, Birmingham City's former owners David Gold and David Sullivan will await the compensation figure West Ham are ordered to pay Alan Curbishley before also making a move.

The pair are working their way through a maze of financial difficulties and want "the entire picture in front of them" before making an offer for the club.

Despite Sullivan claiming he's not sure, we can reveal he and Gold are still keen to talk with the Hammers.

A source said: "It's well known that the club is carrying a mountain of debt but if they were to be relegated they could be into a disastrous scenario such is the level of debt.

"Once they know the compensation figure following Curbishley's victory in his constructive dismissal case, they will have the final piece of the jigsaw. Once the figure is known the sums can be finalised and offers made."

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