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Spurs boss George Graham has cleared the way for Aston Villa manager John Gregory to sign Sheffield Wednesday's Benito Carbone after pulling out of the race to sign the rebel Italian. Tottenham had confirmed their interest in Carbone, now out of favour at Hillsborough, but just 24 hours later have decided the 28-year-old will not be part of their future plans. Spurs director of football David Pleat, who signed Carbone from AC Milan for £3million when he was Owls boss three years ago, said: ``Following our inquiries regarding Benito Carbone's availability at Sheffield Wednesday, we have decided not to pursue our interest at the present time.'' It's understood Tottenham have been unable to persuade Carbone to commit himself beyond next season, the same reason which forced Derby boss Jim Smith to forget about signing Carbone earlier this week. Another reason is believed to be Carbone's exorbitant wage demands, which could lead to Gregory also dropping his interest. Gregory appeared to have fallen behind in the race to end Carbone's Wednesday nightmare after Villa officials stalled earlier this week on making the money available. Gregory's recent rift with chairman Doug Ellis, despite having publicly made up, seemingly continues to have an adverse effect as the transfer purse-strings have been tightened at Villa Park. The Villa boss is believed to have approached the financial big-wigs at the club to ask for the cash to buy Carbone, with the 28-year-old likely to cost around £1.5million. Gregory's request was initially met with silence, and this had allowed Spurs to step in, but now Villa appear to be the only club in the running. Gregory said: ``We have made an enquiry, but that's as far as it has gone, although we will continue to monitor the situation. ``Apparently a fee of around £1.5million is being quoted (in the papers) and this would seem to be a reasonable fee for a Premier League player at the present time. ``Obviously they want to get something out of the deal because if Carbone
sits out the season he will walk away from Hillsborough as a free agent.
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