Leeds mull Woodgate offer

Betting on Terry Venables becoming the next Premiership manager to leave his post was suspended after Leeds United considered an offer from Newcastle for their England centreback Jonathan Woodgate.

Venables has hinted he could quit if the heavily-indebted club decide to offload Woodgate in the wake of Robbie Fowler's departure for Manchester City, which was completed on Thursday.

Newcastle have reportedly tabled a bid of between nine and ten million pounds for the 23-year-old Woodgate, who is reported to be interested in the move.

Bobby Robson's side are still in the Champions League, have an outside chance of forcing their way into the title race and look certain to return to Europe next season.

Leeds in contrast are being squeezed between creditors owed a total of 77 million pounds and one of the biggest wage bills in the Premier League.

The financial problems triggered the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United after the World Cup last summer. Robbie Keane departed for Spurs soon after and the current transfer window has seen both Olivier Dacourt and Lee Bowyer leave on loan deals designed to get them off the payroll, as well as the sale of Fowler.

Venables had been second favourite to leave his position behind West Ham's Glenn Roeder. But bookmakers William Hill have suspended their book on the issue because of concern a decision might already have been made.

"Rumours spread fast in the worlds of football and betting, but it can be financially costly to ignore them as we have found to our expense in the past," said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.