Friday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Wigan are in talks with Villareal about signing Argentine international striker Marco Ruben, who is thought to be keen to move.(skysports.com) 
Manchester City have offered £15m for West Ham's Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami.(Daily Telegraph) 
West Ham have offered £2m for Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy, but the Lancashire side want more to part with the South African.(skysports.com) 
Striker David Nugent is happy to extend his loan spell from Portsmouth to Burnley until the end of the season but does not want to decide on his long-term future until then.(skysports.com) 
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson says he has had no contact with Arsenal about £7m-rated former non-league defender Chris Smalling, and he would expect Arsene Wenger to get in touch personally if they were interested.(The Independent) 
Hamburg have joined West Ham and Tottenham in the race to sign striker Ruud van Nistelrooy from Real Madrid.( imscouting.com) 
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is interested in Real Madrid's Argentine midfielder Fernando Gago.(Itv.com) 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

New West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan have made a sensational swoop for Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, offering him £100,000-a-week to move to Upton Park. (The Sun) 
However, Tottenham are now favourites to sign Dutchman Van Nistelrooy after the former Manchester United player rejected a big-money offer from the Hammers.(Daily Mail) 
Tottenham, Sunderland and Manchester City are all chasing Portsmouth defender Younes Kaboul, with Spurs putting together a £10m bid.(Daily Mail) 
Spurs are closing in on a £11m swoop for Palermo central defender Simon Kjaer, but the player's wage demands are proving to be a problem.(Daily Mirror) 
Portsmouth goalkeeper David James's loan move to Stoke is back on as the clubs have renewed talks.(The Guardian) 
Manchester United and Manchester City are both interested in Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini. The 25-year-old's agent says he is also talking to Tottenham.(Daily Mail) 
Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has promised Arsenal and Liverpool that he will make a decision about his future by the end of the month.(Daily Mirror) 
Aston Villa have played down reports saying they are close to signing Rangers striker Kris Boyd.(The Independent) 
West Ham and Birmingham are both keen on signing AC Milan striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on loan.(Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland are set to complete a £1.8m move for 32-year-old Aston Villa defender Habib Beye.(The Sun) 
Manchester City are weighing up a £5m move for Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson. Sunderland, Chelsea and Wolves are also interested in the 22-year-old.(The Sun) 
Burnley manager Brian Laws is hoping that Portsmouth see "common sense" and allow David Nugent to stay on loan at Turf Moor until the end of the season. (Daily Express) 
Wigan are looking to spring a surprise signing with a £5m bid for 23-year-old Villarreal striker Marco Ruben. (Daily Mail)
Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson will finally walk away from Notts County next week if the club cannot find fresh investment to stave off a winding-up order.(The Times) 


OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal defender William Gallas will not receive any punishment for his challenge on Mark Davies in the 4-2 victory over Bolton on Wednesday. After the game, angry Bolton boss Owen Coyle said the challenge "was closer to an assault than a tackle".(The Times) 
Bolton's anger over the tackle and the fact that the ball was not put out of play is showing no signs of diminishing, with Wanderers defender Paul Robinson saying: "It was a disgusting tackle. He's lucky he hasn't broken his leg. We deserved better and are disappointed not to have got anything."(Daily Telegraph) 
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his players: "If anyone steps out of control, that's them dead." The Scot was talking at a lecture in Dublin. (The Sun) 
Cash-strapped Derby have placed every member of the squad on the transfer list as they try to raise £8m by the end of the month.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

So what did Carlos Tevez really say about his former Manchester United team-mate Gary Neville in a South American radio interview? He's a "moron" (Daily Mirror and Daily Express), "idiot and creep" (Daily Star and Daily Mail), "stupid bootlicker" (The Sun) and a "bootlicking moron" (Guardian, Independent and The Times) are the general themes.