Sunday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Barcelona are budgeting for a £60m summer deal for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. (Sunday Mirror) 
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has revealed he snubbed offers to join Chelsea and Manchester City last summer.(News of the World) 
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic could be a summer target for Manchester City.(Sunday Times) 
And United are believed to be lining up Palermo's £10m-rated Danish defender Simon Kjaer as a replacement for Vidic. (News of the World) 
Also attracting United's interest is Bolton midfielder Mark Davies - although they face a battle with Liverpool for the 21-year-old.(News of the World) 
Yet another transfer target for United is striker Karim Benzema, who appears to be out of favour at Real Madrid and could be available for £18m. (News of the World) 
Blackburn are interested in Manchester City striker Benjani, who is currently on loan at Sunderland. (News of the World)
Everton boss David Moyes has put Nedum Onuoha at the top of his wanted list, and is ready to offer £4m for the Manchester City defender. (News of the World) 
Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips' future is up in the air after a breakdown in contract talks at the club. (News of the World)
Arsenal have beaten Liverpool and Tottenham to the signing of Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, who will join them in the summer on a fee transfer but will still cost them £16m in wages and add-ons. (Various) 
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is hoping to secure a permanent deal for on-loan striker Christian Benitez to ward off interest from West Ham.(The People) 
Hull are lining up a double swoop for Derby's right-back Nicky Hunt and midfielder Paul Green. (The People) 
Blackburn are chasing Standard Liege's Congo international striker Dieumerci Mbokani. (The People)
Lokomotiv Moscow are planning to make a take-it-or-leave-it offer for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko . (The People) 
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has revealed he would happily splash £20m on Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli in the summer. (Daily Star)
Mancini is also chasing Fiorentina defender Alessandro Gamberini, who plays at centre-back and has seven caps for Italy. (Daily Star Sunday) 
West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami has yet to sign a new deal at the club and could be tempted to return to Italy with Palermo. (Daily Star Sunday)
Portsmouth are interested in signing ex-Blackburn striker Shabani Nonda, who has left Galatasaray. (Daily Star Sunday) 
Arsenal defender William Gallas has been targeted by AC Milan, with the Italians hoping to land the centre-back on a free transfer in the summer. (Daily Star Sunday)
Birmingham and Wigan are fighting it out to sign Real Mallorca striker Aritz Aduriz. (Daily Star Sunday) 
Chelsea are monitoring 16-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku, despite his father insisting his son will not be allowed to leave Belgium before he turns 18.(Mail on Sunday) 
The Blues are also keen on Newcastle centre-back Steven Taylor and are ready to pay £9m to secure his signature. (Sunday Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United's 39-year-old goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar looks set to sign a new one-year contract worth £5m.(Mail on Sunday) 
West Ham co-owner David Gold has come out in support of rivals Portsmouth, saying the Premier League should not let the south coast club go out of business.(Mail on Sunday) 
Stoke City's Matthew Etherington admits to having squandered £1.5m gambling on horse racing, greyhounds and in card schools.(Mail on Sunday) 
Everton have put a £30m price tag on teenager Jack Rodwell in a bid to keep interest from Manchester United at bay.(Sunday Mirror) 
Wayne Bridge is set to snub John Terry and refuse to shake his hand when the pair come face-to-face for Chelsea's home match against Manchester City. Only 24 hours later, the pair are due to meet up again for an England squad get-together. (The People) 
Neil Warnock is ready to walk out on crisis club Crystal Palace to take over as a manager of QPR. (The People) 
Gianfranco Zola is considering his future as West Ham manager as he is so incensed by remarks made by the club's new co-owner David Sullivan over wage cuts.(The People) 
Wigan's Paul Scharner is ready to quit the club when his contract runs out in the summer, with Fulham and Stoke believed to be keen on him. (The People) 
Hull midfielder George Boateng is to be rewarded with an offer of a new deal at the club after turning around his season since he was stripped of the captaincy. (The People)
Portsmouth could be sold off for as little as £1. New owner Balram Chainrai is desperate to offload the club and wants only to recover the £17m he is owed and to ensure that other debts of £60m are met.(Sunday Express) 
City banker Keith Harris is confident funds can be raised to buy the Glazer family out of their ownership of Manchester United by the end of the season - if the Americans are willing to sell.(Mail on Sunday) 
Former Scotland boss Craig Brown is on being targeted by Nigeria, who are looking for a manager to lead them in this summer's World Cup in South Africa. (Star on Sunday) 

AND FINALLY

Ronaldo says never say never to a return to Manchester United as he reveals how he misses his Old Trafford "family". (News of the World) 
Football could become the first sport in the country to be controlled by a state-appointed regulator in the wake of a run of financial crises that have beset a number of leading clubs. (Sunday Telegraph)
www.bbc.co.uk