Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City forward Robinho has told his team-mates that he wants to quit the club to join Spanish giants Barcelona. (Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham and Portsmouth are stepping up their pursuit of Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa. (The Sun) 
Tottenham could also bid for former Portsmouth and current Al-Arabi striker Lomana LuaLua.(The Sun) 
Chelsea have been told that Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero will cost them £50m.(Daily Mirror) 
Meanwhile, Napoli insist that Chelsea have not made a bid for £25m-rated midfielder Marek Hamsik. (The Sun) 
Liverpool have swooped to sign 14-year-old forward Dave Moli from Blue Square Premier side Luton. (The Sun) 
Liverpool, Tottenham and Fulham are monitoring Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's situation after the Dutchman said he would consider a Premier League return.(Daily Star) 
Gillingham have told Wolves they will have to pay more than £1.5m to land Canadian striker Simeon Jackson.(The Sun) 
Birmingham are lining up a £1.5m raid on local rivals West Brom for midfielder Graham Dorrans. (Daily Mirror) 
Aston Villa are set to part company with defender Nicky Shorey and midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker in the January transfer window. (Daily Star) 
Preston are lining up a January loan move for Stoke winger Michael Tonge. (The Sun)
Celtic midfielder Simon Ferry is desperate to extend his loan stay at League One side Swindon. (The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Injured Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been told he will not play football again this year. (The Sun) 
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that he will not quit the club to manage Italy after rumours that current Azzurri boss Marcello Lippi will quit after the World Cup. (Daily Mirror) 
Fulham are set to spend £9m to secure the long-term services of manager Roy Hodgson and defender Brede Hangeland. (The Sun) 
Former Birmingham chief David Sullivan is plotting a takeover of League One Charlton if his bid to buy West Ham fails. (Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City midfielder Vincent Kompany has been expelled from Belgium's squad because of poor timekeeping. (The Guardian) 

AND FINALLY

It has emerged that England and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson is the latest Premier League player to be receiving the same horse-placenta treatment in Serbia as Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.(The Sun) 
The coaching skills of former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are to be offered to a Sunday league football side as part of Rio Ferdinand's charity auction. (The Sun)
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