Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is back in the hunt for Lyon's French striker Karim Benzema after being priced out of a move last summer. (Daily Mirror) 
Portsmouth defender Djimi Traore wants to make his loan move to Birmingham City a permanent one at the end of the season. (Daily Mirror)
Charlton have slapped a £3m price tag on teenage midfielder Jonjo Shelvey's head, with a number of Premier League clubs eyeing up a summer move. (The Sun) 
Leeds midfielder Fabian Delph will move to Aston Villa in the summer - if Villa boss Martin O'Neill can persuade Leeds chairman Ken Bates to sell. (The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP 

Newcastle manager Alan Shearer says his side's match with Portsmouth is the biggest game of his football career as he targets one of the three wins he believes will save the Magpies from relegation. (Various) 
Portsmouth defender Silvain Distin has conceded he had never heard of Paul Hart and Brian Kidd before they took over the managerial duties at Portsmouth but says the duo have turned the club's season around. (Various)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has rejected an ambitious bid from Bayern Munich to recruit him as their new manager. (Daily Mail) 
Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia is set to reject the chance to join the club's coaching staff because he wants to prolong his playing career. (Daily Mirror)
Southampton will go out of business in eight days unless they find a buyer. (Various) 
Manchester United midfielder Rodrigo Possebon will snub Brazil to pledge his international future to Italy. (Daily Mail)
A proposed £30million investment in Sheffield Wednesday, headed by former Owls manager Howard Wilkinson, has collapsed. (Daily Mirror) 
Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey believes his boss at Craven Cottage Roy Hodgson should be named manager of the year after taking the Cottagers to within touching distance of a Europa League spot. (Daily Mail) 

AND FINALLY 

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has revealed that he regularly plays out matches in his head to test out players and tactics and that he has never lost such a mental match. He has gone over his side's Champions League semi-final with Barcelona twice in his mind already. (Various)
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