WHY would a club pay £5 million for a player in January when they could sign him for nothing in July?

At best, he would be available for 16 Premiership games, which equates to £312,000 per match - plus wages.

But that, the rumour mill would have us believe, is what Chelsea are prepared to pay Wanderers for Tal Ben Haim. Were it true, it would be another example of the Russian oil baron Roman Abramovich using his personal fortune to knock the transfer market out of kilter.

But Chelsea are not the only club supposedly preparing to bid for the 24-year-old Israel international, who is generally regarded as the best defender at the Reebok.

Tales of Ben Haim joining Portsmouth have been doing the rounds for months and latest reports claim their wealthy chairman, Alexander Gaydamak, met the player's agents in Israel over Christmas to pave the way for a £2.5 million deal - £156,000 a match if we follow the same reasoning.

Now there is talk of Spurs entering the bidding at £3.5m, if they sell Anthony Gardner to West Ham.

Should the speculation turn out to be accurate, Ben Haim could become the prized lot in a transfer auction, which would at least give Wanderers some financial compensation for losing such a valuable and versatile member of their high-flying squad.

Why the rush to pay good money for a product that would cost nothing in the summer? Circumstances.

Both Chelsea and Portsmouth have centre-back problems. In fact, injuries mean Jose Mourinho is preparing for tomorrow's FA Cup tie against Macclesfield without a single recognised central defender. At Pompey, Harry Redknapp is currently coping without Dejan Stefanovic and Noe Paramot.

Plus the fact that any Premiership club aiming to sign Ben Haim this month, would see the transfer fee as a long-term investment rather than a short-term punt. Such are his qualities, that Wanderers' chairman Phil Gartside, pictured, is prepared to make the young man "an offer he can't refuse" to keep him at the Reebok.

That, at this late stage, would appear to be a forlorn hope. But Ben Haim, who has developed into a confident, accomplished and respected Premiership player since joining Wanderers for £250,000 from Maccabi Tel Aviv in August, 2004, was only concerning himself with Bolton matters when he spoke of his ambition for 2007 - to go all the way in this season's FA Cup, Interestingly, there has been speculation over the last couple of days that he could actually be rested for tomorrow's Third Round tie at Doncaster, so as not to be cup-tied, which might affect his valuation in any possible transfer.

But there was no suggestion that he would not be involved when he spoke of the need for Wanderers to bounce back after their defeat at Anfield on Monday.

"After five wins on the trot we were very disappointed to go to Liverpool and lose 3-0," he said.

"It's very important to perform well and get a win at Doncaster. We need to keep on winning. It is very important to us to stay in that competition.

"To do well is one of the targets that we set at the beginning of the year. We want to go as far as we can in the FA Cup, maybe get to the final and then see if we can win the cup.

"Bolton have bigger ambitions. We have very good players, a very good staff, we work very well together so the ambition is a little bit higher than 2006."

Whether Ben Haim's ambitions remain the same at the end of the month could well depend on how desperate or how determined Jose Mourinho, Harry Redknapp or Martin Jol are to get his signature on a contract.