CHARLTON are ready to pay Southampton a club record £7m in an audacious bid to bring England striker James Beattie to The Valley.

Manager Alan Curbishley will move for 26-year-old Beattie should Saints offer the slightest encouragement that they are prepared to sell a player who has two years of his contract remaining.

He cost £1m when he moved to the South Coast from Blackburn in July, 1998 and any multi-million pound move would represent sound business for Southampton.

However, chairman Rupert Lowe was dismissive of Charlton's interest and in issuing a firm hands off warning. He said: "We don't want to sell Beattie and we are a bigger club than Charlton, so it would not make sense.

"I think Beattie's agent, Jon Smith, has been busy but he is a Southampton player and we want it to stay that way. He has done well for us and we have done well for him."

Charlton were alerted when Saints paid Aston Villa £2m for striker Peter Crouch. There are also reports that Beattie has not seen eye to eye with manager Paul Sturrock since his arrival at St Mary's Stadium from Plymouth late last season.

Should Charlton tempt Beattie to The Valley it would fire the imaginations of the club's supporters send season sales soaring to a record level. The signing would also go a long way towards fulfilling Curbishley's dream of establishing the club among the elite of London.

Beattie lifted Southampton's Player of the Season award for the second time in 2002-03 after netting 23 Premiership goals and stayed in contention for the Golden Boot until the closing day of the season. His form earned him his first England call-up for a friendly against Australia.

In his relentless search for a striker before the closure of the transfer window on September 1, Curbishley will have been alerted by the news that Real Madrid are prepared to let long-time Charlton target Javier Portillo go out on loan.

Emilio Butragueno, Real's sporting director, confirmed that the club are ready to release the exciting 22-year-old on a season-long loan. He is under contract with Real for the next three years.