Fowler set to sign for Leeds in £11m deal

The unsettled Robbie Fowler looked to be on his way last night after Leeds United announced they had agreed a deal worth £11m for the Liverpool striker.

Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman who had refused to meet the original asking price of £15m, appeared to have got his man after topping a £10m bid from the Blackburn manager, Graeme Souness.

Souness was especially keen to sign Fowler in order to solve the problem Blackburn have with scoring goals and was prepared to pay a club-record fee to bring the striker to Ewood Park.

"A fee has been agreed between the two clubs," the Liverpool spokesman, Ian Cotton, said. "Leeds have been given permission to speak to the player. The deal has not been done, though. It's now up to Robbie to discuss personal terms."

Leeds plan to give Liverpool close to £10m up front for the 26-year-old England international, who joined the Anfield club as a boy and for whom he has scored a record-breaking 171 goals in 330 matches, with extra cash based on achievement and appearances.

Fowler's expected arrival would represent a significant transfer coup and will push manager David O'Leary's outlay on players to £97m in just over three years.

The Liverpool manager, Gérard Houllier, who is recovering from heart surgery, has been kept informed, but the timing of the move will still shock Liverpool fans, who have always idolised a player nicknamed "God" in the dressing room for his goalscoring ability.

Liverpool will be selling one of the country's best finishers to the club many believe are their major rivals for the Premiership title and the fear on the Kop is that Fowler's departure will one day come back to haunt them.

The club, who are trying to get a work permit for the Czech teenager Milan Baros, will still be expected to buy an experienced striker to fill the void left by his departure.

Fowler, whose current agreement runs out in June 2003, has been showing no interest in renewing his contract, although yesterday Phil Thompson, the Anfield caretaker manager, said: "Contract talks are imminent. I hope Robbie wants to stay."

It was a training ground bust-up between Thompson and Fowler earlier in the season that pushed Fowler towards the exit door. He was forced by Houllier to apologise to Thompson, a stand-off followed that lasted several days and meant Fowler was left out of two matches before he complied.

It had become apparent that Fowler would be sold rather than being allowed to leave in 18 months' time on a Bosman transfer for free, a scenario which Liverpool were forced to endure when Steve McManaman quit to join Real Madrid two seasons ago.

Fowler's Anfield future had been in doubt after it became clear he was no longer a member of the first choice line-up, with Michael Owen and Emile Heskey always the No 1 front partnership when they were both fit.

That has left Fowler frequently on the substitutes' bench, and with the World Cup finals coming up next summer he had been made aware by England coach, Sven Goran Eriksson, that he needed regular first-team football to be sure of his place in the squad for Japan and South Korea.

Serious injuries and disciplinary problems have blighted his recent seasons with Liverpool ­ the FA banning him for a infamous "coke" sniffing incident in a derby with Everton, while he also fell foul of the authorities for a very public row with Chelsea's Graeme Le Saux .

But for all his problems, Fowler has remained a great hero of the Kop, and his departure will bring considerable criticism. He will expect wages in the region of £40,000 a week at Leeds but even that may not be enough to persuade him to say farewell after such a long and emotional association.

Leeds' interest in Fowler has been heightened by Alan Smith's likely three-match ban following his red card against Aston Villa on Sunday. "I know that I let a few people down getting sent off," Smith said in response to criticism from O'Leary, "but I'm just trying my best, and I would like to apologise to all the lads and everyone else I let down."