Rangers are preparing to table a fourth bid for Scott Allan, although it is believed that Rotherham United are set to join the pursuit of the Hibs midfielder.

A bid of £375,000 from the English Championship club was rejected by Hibs for the player, who still has a year of his contract with the Leith club remaining.

Rotherham are reported to be set to up the ante with a higher bid of £425,000 today although Allan has intimidated that is not keen on a move south of the border, with Rangers his club of choice.

Hibs have maintained throughout their dealings with Rangers that will not sell the player to Ibrox. Rangers have had bids of £175,000, £225,000 and £280,000 rejected by Hibs for the services of the player.

Rotherham manager Steve Evans has expressed some surprise at the very public nature of the wrangle for the player.

"Any transfer business we do will remain confidential between the clubs," he said. "From a distance, one wonders why news of clubs bidding and not bidding gets out. We will not do that. We will deal directly with Hibernian should we pursue any interest in Scott Allan."

Elsewhere, Scotland internationalist Barry Bannan - a one time target of Neil Lennon's when he was Celtic manager - is locked in a three-way Championship fight between Bolton, Derby and Leeds.

The winger has been told there is no future for him at Crystal Palace who are holding out for a fee of £1.5m for the player.

However, all three Championship sides are reluctant to meet the asking price and want the player in on a loan deal.

Lennon had the player on loan last term and with Palace signing Mali internationalist Bakary Sako on a three-year deal yesterday, it is clear that Bannan will need a move to get some game time.

And former Celtic forward Shaun Maloney has also been the target of a move to bring him back to Britain after making the move to the MLS with Chicago Fire just seven months ago.

Championship side Hull City have made an offer for Maloney, who has played just 12 games for Chicago and remains their highest paid player.

However, with the transfer market closing today in the MLS, the move may not suit the club since there would be little time to source a replacement for the Scotland internationalist.

Another former Parkhead striker, Georgios Samaras, has had his chances of a deal to Sampdoria thwarted after failing a medical with the Italian side.

The Greek forward is a free agent after the final 12 months of his contract at West Brom were cancelled by mutual consent last month.

Aston Villa have withdrawn from a deal to sign Spurs striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

The Toga striker had been in talks for more than a week over a season-long loan deal that would have enabled him to hook up with former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood.

However, the deal has been cancelled by the Midlands side.

Manchester United, though, are on the brink of finalising their deal for Barcelona's Pedro with the clubs reported to have agreed a fee for the player. The winger could be handed the No.7 shirt and would join after the Euro Super Cup on August 11.