London, July 19: Southampton have accepted an undisclosed bid for Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, the Premier League's big spenders, after the England full back handed in a transfer request.
''I regret to inform our supporters that we have today given Wayne Bridge permission to speak to Chelsea Football Club with a view to signing for them,'' Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe said in a statement on the South Coast club's website yesterday.

''Wayne has quickly achieved great footballing success in his time with our club and has served us well.
''He has, however, made it known to both (manager) Gordon Strachan and me that he believes a move to Chelsea to be a career progression and an opportunity he cannot turn down.''
A report on Southampton's official website said the club had strongly resisted Chelsea's first two offers, believed to be five million pounds and six million pounds, but accepted a third offer after Bridge, 22, made it clear he wanted to leave.



''The exact fee has not been revealed but there has been widespread speculation that it is around seven million pounds plus (Chelsea full back) Graeme Le Saux,'' said the report.



This week Chelsea, bought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich earlier this month, have signed Cameroon midfielder Geremi and West Ham United defender Glen Johnson, and agreed a fee for Blackburn Rovers winger Damien Duff.


Bureau Report