Thursday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has re-stressed his loyalty to the club in the face of renewed speculation linking him with a move to Spain. "I will repeat for the 100th time: my contract with Manchester is until the summer of 2012 and I want to stay at Old Trafford until the last day," Vidic told Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. (Agence France-Presse)

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TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are ready to make a summer move for England midfielder Joe Cole if he cannot resolve his contract dispute at Chelsea.(Daily Express) 
Birmingham claim they have reached an agreement with Manchester City for goalkeeper Joe Hart to remain on loan at St Andrew's next season.(The Sun) 
Bayern Munich look set to beat Chelsea to the signature of CSKA Moscow's Serbian winger Milos Krasic.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea have been told that defender Neven Subotic will cost them "a lot of money" by the Serbian's club Borussia Dortmund. (The Sun) 
Spanish newspaper AS has reported that Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano - a target for both Chelsea and Manchester City - will cost 30m euros, in line with a release clause in his contract.(imscouting.com) 
Antonio Caliendo, the agent of Inter Milan's Brazilian full-back Maicon has opened the door to a summer move to Manchester City, saying: "(City boss Roberto) Mancini has always expressed his desire to have Maicon." (Daily Mail) 
Manchester United defender John O'Shea is a summer target for Spanish champions Barcelona, according to Spanish newspaper Sport.(imscouting.com) 
Crisis club Portsmouth will ask the Premier League to let them sell some of their players now - despite the transfer window having closed - in a bid to pay their bills. Pompey are understood to have debts of around £60m and last week survived a winding-up order by providing the High Court with a detailed statement of their finances. (Daily Mirror) 
Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar has dismissed rumours that he is set to quit the club, saying that Merseyside feels like home.(The Sun) 
Newcastle will attempt to hijack West Brom's bid to sign Wigan midfielder Jason Koumas, who has been told he can leave the DW Stadium.(The Sun)

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones has hinted that he would jump at the chance to join Liverpool this summer.(The Sun) 

Arsenal are set to lose 18-year-old striker Gilles Sunu to Bordeaux for a pittance this summer. The player is unsettled at the Emirates and out of contract at the end of the season.(Daily Mirror) 
Brighton boss Gus Poyet has opened talks with QPR to bring striker Rowan Vine to the Withdean Stadium on an extended loan.(The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Midfielder David Beckham, currently on loan at AC Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy, has backed Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney to fire England to World Cup glory this summer. Rooney scored twice in the San Siro on Tuesday as United secured a 3-2 Champions League last-16 first-leg lead over Milan.(The Sun) 
Notts County's new owner Ray Trew may put the club into administration in the next 48 hours after discovering the full extent of the financial problems at Meadow Lane.(Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has launched a stunning verbal attack on Harry Redknapp and accused the Spurs boss of "making fun of me". The Russian has struggled to nail down first-team football under Redknapp and added that he does not think he has a future at White Hart Lane.(The Sun) 
Alan Curbishley could take over as QPR manager now he has settled his financial dispute with former club West Ham.(Daily Mail) 
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is discussing a new contract after guiding the club to eighth in the Premier League.(Birmingham Mail) 
However, McLeish will not sign a new deal unless he is given full control of transfers by owner Carson Yeung.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Sunderland striker Darren Bent has stopped using social networking site Twitter as it distracts him from playing.(The Sun)
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Monday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Everton will battle it out with Arsenal to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh for £7m in the summer.(The Sun) 
New Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has given the club's chief executive Garry Cook a list of players he wants to sign, with Juventus left-back Giorgio Chiellini one of his targets. (Daily Mirror) 
Mancini is also keen on Inter Milan right-back Maicon. (Daily Telegraph)
Tottenham are set to move for Portsmouth full-back Nadir Belhadj in January, with Blackburn and Everton also interested in the Algeria defender. (Daily Mail) 
Blackburn have offered a four-year deal to United States midfielder Stuart Holden, who plays for Major League Soccer outfit Houston Dynamo. (The Sun)
Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan are monitoring 16-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelo Lukaku. (Daily Mail) 
Birmingham City want to turn Joe Hart's loan switch from Manchester City into a permanent move and are also close to agreeing a £2.5m deal for Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel.(Daily Mirror) 
West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans is wanted by Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Everton, Stoke City and Sunderland but the Baggies say the 22-year-old midfielder is not for sale.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Roberto Mancini's first job as Manchester City manager will be to hold showdown talks with £32.5m Brazilian forward Robinho, who the Italian sees as the key to City's future.(The Sun) 
Mancini faces a battle to win over a number of disillusioned City players who are outraged by the sacking of former boss Mark Hughes.(Daily Mirror) 
City delayed sacking Mark Hughes for three weeks to give Mancini an easy start as manager, after the Italian verbally agreed to take charge at Eastlands on 2 December.(Daily Mail) 
Hughes had 18 months left on his contract and will receive a maximum pay-out of £3m following his departure from City, but the final figure he receives will depend on how quickly he finds a new job.(The Guardian) 
Mancini took the Eastlands job knowing he was not the club's first choice. City's chief executive Garry Cook flew to Amsterdam at the start of December to offer the post to Guus Hiddink.(Daily Telegraph) 
Former England midfielder David Platt, a close friend of Mancini, is set to join the Italian's coaching team at Eastlands.(The Independent) 
Alan Curbishley could return as West Ham boss if David Sullivan's takeover of the Upton Park club goes through.(Daily Express) 
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce says he will have to sell players before he can strengthen his squad in the January transfer window.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Sunderland striker Darren Bent is terrified of spiders and will consider hypnotherapy to combat his arachnophobia, with the possibility that he may be part of England's squad for the 2010 World Cup in spider-infested South Africa. (The Sun)

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