Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City have made an approach for Atletico Madrid's former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan but have been told they must pay £30m for the 29-year-old Uruguayan. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is reportedly interested in signing Genoa striker Diego Milito, 29, after flying out to Italy to watch the Argentine. (Daily Express) 
Rangers' Cyprus Under-21 international Georgios Efrem, who has impressed on loan at Dundee, is wanted by Fulham, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Reading. (Daily Star) 
Burnley striker Ade Akinbiyi is being targeted by Major League Soccer side Houston Dynamo. (Daily Mirror) 
Watford manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed he is interested in signing Ipswich midfielder Veliche Shumulikosi, 27. (Daily Star) 
Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has confirmed that Bayern Munich are leading the £9m hunt for Celtic winger Aiden McGeady to replace Franck Ribery who it is believed is interesting Barcelona and Manchester City. (The Sun) 
Former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat says he is ready to bring Ibrox skipper Barry Ferguson to Zenit St Petersburg to replace the outgoing Anatoliy Tymoschuk who is bound for Bayern Munich. (Daily Mail) 
Dundee United manager Craig Levein is being patient as he looks for a goalkeeper to replace the Celtic-bound Lukasz Zaluska in the summer. (The Herald)

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United fear Cristiano Ronaldo could quit English football because of a lack of protection from referees. (Daily Mail) 
Newcastle's players believe the current caretaker management duo of Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood is not good enough to keep the club in the Premier League and want former England boss Terry Venables brought in as an emergency manager. (The Sun) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has blasted Fabio Capello's decision to call-up Ledley King to the England squad as he can barely train with the Spurs squad due to a persistent knee injury. (Various) 
King himself has pleaded with Capello not to pick him and said he may retire from international football in order to save his career. (Daily Star) 
Manager Rafael Benitez's former assistant and chief scout at Liverpool, Paco Herrera, has revealed the secrets behind his Anfield success. He claims the Spaniard has 70 scouts, a players' database of more than 14,000 professionals, that it was his idea to build a hotel at the club's Melwood training ground and he has access to DVDs from all the top leagues in the world. (The Sun) 
Hundreds of players in the Championship, League One and League Two are in danger of being out of work this summer as up to 10 clubs could go bust because of the economic crisis. (Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett could strengthen his position at the club if he decides to sell his ice hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens. (Various) 
Or, Gillett is edging towards the Anfield exit door after instructing a finance company to look at his assets. (Various) 
Former Arsenal favourite Freddie Ljungberg has warned that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger may leave the club if he is offered a bigger budget to work with elsewhere. (Daily Mirror) 
Chelsea and Russia manager Guus Hiddink will hold talks with the Russian Football Federation to clarify that he has no intention of staying at Stamford Bridge beyond the summer. (The Sun) 
Even though Hiddink may not be at Chelsea next season, Blues owner Roman Abramovich has asked the Dutchman to draw up a list of summer targets amounting to £100m. (Daily Express) 
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will not face any further punishment over his reaction after being sent off against Fulham on Saturday. (Various) 
Barcelona and former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry believes England can win next year's World Cup in South Africa. (The Sun) 
Liverpool stars Jamie Carragher and Albert Riera believe Manchester United are starting to feel the pressure after the Reds closed the gap to one point at the top of the table. (Various) 
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is so concerned about his side's recent slump that he has refused an offer from Sky to bring the Premier League match with Aston Villa on Sunday, 5 April forward 24 hours to give the Red Devils more preparation time for their Champions League quarter-final with Porto on 7 April. (The Guardian) 
Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock wants to ban James Scowcroft from training after the striker refused to go out on loan. (Daily Mirror) 
Barry Ferguson and David Weir are set to join Stephen McManus on the Scotland sidelines for this weekend's World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands. (Daily Record) 
Kenny Miller is also out of Saturday's match after reporting to the team headquarters with a hamstring injury. (The Herald) 
Dutch star Arjen Robben has warned Scotland his Real Madrid and international team-mate Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is in the form of his life. (Daily Express) 
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy says his club's defender Christophe Berra can replace the injured Stephen McManus, Kirk Broadfoot or David Weir should they not make the big game in Amsterdam. (Daily Mail)

AND FINALLY

Scientists have come up with a formula for taking penalties that, if followed correctly, has a 100% success rate. The shot should be 65mph, you need a run-up of five to six paces from the edge of the area, approach the ball at an angle of 20 to 30 degrees and the ball must cross the goal-line at exactly 0.5m below the crossbar and the same distance inside the post. (The Sun)
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