Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool will take Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones on loan, with a view to a permanent transfer in the summer. This would enable both clubs to carry the impact of the transfer on their balance sheets into the next tax year, which begins in April.(Daily Mirror) 
West Ham are set to make Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy the first signing of the David Gold/David Sullivan era after lodging a £1.2m bid.(Daily Star) 
Chelsea and Manchester City have both made offers to 18-year-old Spanish midfielder Sergio Canales, who is out of contract and free to leave current club Racing Santander this summer.(www.imscouting.com) 
Manchester City remain hopeful of signing Rubin Kazan left-back Cristian Ansaldi.(Daily Mail) 
Celtic have intimated they are willing to sell winger Aiden McGeady to Birmingham but only if the Midlands club stump up £11m.(Daily Mirror) 
Stoke have made a £2m bid for Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.(Daily Star) 
However, West Ham have also made enquiries about former Manchester United striker Van Nistelrooy.(www.imscouting.com) 
Bayern Munich midfielder Arjen Robben has advised teammate Franck Ribery not to join Real Madrid. Robben spent two years with Madrid before joining Bayern last summer.(www.imscouting.com) 
Portsmouth goalkeeper David James' on-off move to Stoke is back on. The clubs have re-opened negotiations after the transfer collapsed on 15 January because the Potters were not prepared to pay the proportion of James's salary that Pompey wanted from them.(Daily Mirror) 
Alternatively, Stoke boss Tony Pulis is keen to sign Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Lee Grant for £2m.(Daily Star) 
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson has made a move to sign out-of-favour Stoke striker James Beattie.(Daily Mirror)
Everton boss David Moyes is ready to sell striker James Vaughan in the January transfer window.(Daily Mirror) 
Moyes has resurrected a move to sign Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos on loan, six months after they pulled out of a deal to sign the Swiss international.(The Times) 
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Babel is set to perform a u-turn and agree to a £9m move to Birmingham after initially rejecting a move to St Andrews.(The Sun) 
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is eyeing a £1.75m swoop for Sheffield United centre-back Matthew Kilgallon.(The Sun) 
Bolton boss Owen Coyle wants to snap up Jamie O'Hara from Tottenham - but the move will require Fifa's permission as the move would mean the midfielder playing for his third club of the season, which is not allowed.(Daily Mirror) 
Derby boss Nigel Clough is in talks with Arsenal to sign French striker Gilles Sunu on loan for the rest of the season.(Daily Mirror) 
Derby are ready to snap up Millwall's highly-rated left winger Dave Martin in a £150,000 swoop.(Daily Mirror) 
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is ready to make a £4m swoop for Mallorca's highly-rated striker Aritz Aduriz to boost his attack.(Daily Mirror) 
Hull are considering offering a lifeline to out-of-favour Sunderland striker David Healy.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester City forward Robinho insists he has not fallen out with manager Roberto Mancini and has vowed to prove his worth at the club. The Brazilian was taken off during the 2-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday after having come on as a substitute.(Daily Mirror) 
The agent of Russian national team manager Guus Hiddink says that a number of clubs, including Liverpool, have sounded him out about the availability of his client.(The Sun) 
Portsmouth manager Avram Grant says the Premier League are going against the spirit of football by refusing to lift the transfer embargo imposed on the south-coast outfit because they have outstanding debts to other English clubs.(The Sun) 
Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta hopes to make his comeback from a cruciate ligament injury in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool on 6 February. The Spaniard has been sidelined for a year.(The Sun) 
Manchester United defender John O'Shea's season appears to be over because of complications to the leg injury he sustained playing for the Republic of Ireland in France two months ago.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor is set to return for the Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Manchester United next week, after being given compassionate leave since he was caught up in the gun attack on the Togo team bus at the Africa Cup of Nations. (The Sun) 
Striker Daniel Cousin says he wants to quit Hull because he cannot stand manager Phil Brown. "The gaffer and I don't have a good relationship. It's difficult to stay. I want to leave," said Cousin.(The Sun) 

AND FINALLY

Manchester City's Carlos Tevez claims his ear-cupping celebration after scoring against Manchester United in the Carling Cup was not a dig at Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson for refusing to sign the striker last summer but was a tribute to a popular Argentine children's puppet Topo Gigio. (Daily Mirror)

Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Newcastle hope to sign Fulham striker Diomansy Kamara on loan to cover for injured frontman Shola Ameobi, who is out until December with a stress fracture of the foot.(The Sun) 
Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood is another loan target for Magpies caretaker boss Chris Hughton.(Daily Mirror)
Hull City striker Daniel Cousin is keen on a loan move to Newcastle after slipping down the pecking order at the KC Stadium.(Daily Mirror) 
Everton have given striker James Vaughan the go-ahead to join Middlesbrough on loan.(The Guardian) 
Bolton boss Gary Megson has agreed a deal with Wolves worth up to £1m for defender Mark Davies, who joined the Trotters in January. The two clubs opted to negotiate the fee rather than using a transfer tribunal.(Daily Mirror) 
Stoke defender Andrew Davies has rejected a loan move to Plymouth.(The Sun) 
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has handed former Chelsea and Sunderland goalkeeper Jurgen Macho a trial following the Austrian's release by AEK Athens.(Daily Mirror) 
Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell hopes to beat Ipswich, Barnsley and Colchester to the loan signing of Bolton defender Danny Shittu.(The Sun) 
Australia striker Scott McDonald says he will not be quitting Celtic to join Wigan. (The Sun)
Hartlepool manager Chris Turner fears an approach from Celtic for midfielder Gary Liddle and striker James Brown. (The Herald) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reopened his feud with Manchester City boss Mark Hughes following Emmanuel Adebayor's alleged stamp on Robin van Persie on Saturday. Wenger, who used to accuse Hughes' Blackburn side of being too physical, said: "You ask 100 people, 99 will say it is very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes." (The Sun) 
City are in talks with their legal team in a bid to save Adebayor from a potential four-match suspension following Football Association charges of violent conduct and improper conduct as a result of his actions against the Gunners.(Daily Telegraph) 
Inter Milan's former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Fabio Capello "knows nothing about football" after the England coach said it was imperative for the Serie A champions to win the Champions League this season.(Daily Mirror) 
Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez admits England were missed at Euro 2008 and feels they are among the favourites to win the 2010 World Cup.(Daily Mirror) 
New Portsmouth owner Sulaiman Al Fahim is adamant the Fratton Park club will have money to spend in the January transfer window but Pompey's chief executive Peter Storrie says the club has had no new funds made available.(The Sun) 
Al Fahim says he will meet with Pompey boss Paul Hart on 21 November to discuss potential signings.(The Times) 
Former Scotland boss Alex McLeish has welcomed the decision not to axe national manager George Burley over the Scots' failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. (Daily Record)
George Peat's position as Scottish FA president is under threat after he criticised manager George Burley before the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign. (Daily Express) 
Tartan Army spokesman Hamish Husband says George Burley only kept his job as Scotland manager because other candidates rejected approaches to take over. (Various)
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has hailed team-mate Steven Gerrard as "the greatest player in the world".(Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool's co-owner Tom Hicks is confident he can reduce the club's £250m debt and says boss Rafael Benitez can use some of the revenue from the Reds new £20m-a-year shirt-sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered Bank on strengthening his squad.(The Times) 
Liverpool midfielder Lucas, who has been heavily criticised by Reds fans, says he would have left Anfield if not for manager Rafael Benitez, who he says has given him "incredible support and confidence".(Daily Mirror)
Rangers midfielder Pedro Mendes has asked his best friend Fernando Meira for the lowdown on Stuttgart ahead of his side's Champions League clash with the Bundesliga outfit on Wednesday. Meira spent six years with Stuttgart from 2002 to 2008 and now plays for Zenit St Petersburg. (Daily Mirror)
Rangers could be forced to play Lee McCulloch as a makeshift centre-half against Stuttgart in the Champions League because of an injury to David Weir. (Various) 
Olympiakos have expressed an interest in appointing Bryan Robson as their new coach after sacking former Newcastle midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia.(Daily Mail) 
Former Republic of Ireland boss Steve Staunton has applied for the vacant manager's job at League Two side Rotherham.(Daily Mirror) 

.

AND FINALLY

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to recreate his controversial celebration from Saturday's 4-2 win over his old club Arsenal after scoring in training on Tuesday. The Togo striker, who has been charged with improper conduct for running down the pitch to celebrate in front of Gunners fans, smiled as he ran and slid to his knees in front of his team-mates. (Various)
www.bbc.co.uk

Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is set to offer former West Ham defender Lucas Neill £40,000 a week to join the Black Cats and help solve their injury problems. (The Sun) 
Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili is set to sign for Middlesbrough on loan when the Football League transfer window opens on Wednesday. (Daily Mirror) 
Hull striker Daniel Cousin has turned down a loan move to Championship side Cardiff City. (The Sun) 
Blackburn Rovers are interested in Derry City midfielder Darren McCauley after he impressed on a recent trial at the Premier League club. (The Sun) 
Burnley and Hull are to battle it out for out-of-contract Dutch winger Bolo Zenden, whose contract at Marseille has ended. (The Sun) 
Middlesbrough are interested in taking QPR striker Heidar Helguson on loan. (Daily Mirror) 
Brazilian defender Glauber Berti, who was recently released by Manchester City, is set to sign for Hull. (Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Former West Ham midfielder Eyal Berkovic is being tipped to become the next manager of Israel and replace current boss Dror Kashtan. (The Sun) 
Ronnie Moore, who was sacked as Tranmere manager in June, could return for a second spell as Rotherham boss, with current manager Mark Robins set to take over at Barnsley. (Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra says he wants to be a babysitter when he quits football. Evra would also like to do a television comedy with team-mate Park Ji-Sung. (The Sun)
England manager Fabio Capello has thanked Croatia boss Slaven Bilic for providing him with his team talk for Wednesday's crunch World Cup qualifying clash. Bilic claimed England striker Wayne Rooney was "wild" and that John Terry had no right to accuse Eduardo of diving. (Daily Mail)
www.bbc.co.uk

Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Winger Franck Ribery, a target for both Real Madrid and Manchester United, seems to have signalled the end of his time at Bayern Munich by criticising manager Luis van Gaal. (The Sun) 
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy vetoed manager Harry Redknapp's late loan swap attempt on transfer deadline day, which involved winger David Bentley and Manchester City's Martin Petrov. Another loan swap involving Tottenham's Alan Hutton and Sunderland's Anton Ferdinand also fell through. (The Independent) 
Redknapp was also interested in West Ham defender Matthew Upson but was put off by the £15m valuation. (Daily Mail)
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce had a disappointing transfer deadline day as offers for Wigan's Maynor Figueroa, ENPPI wing-back Ahmed Al Muhammadi and free agent defender Lucas Neill all failed. (The Sun) 
Stoke ran out of time in their attempt to sign Bayern Munich right back Christian Lell after the player could not be located by the German club. (Daily Mail) 
New Rangers signing Jerome Rothen has revealed that he turned down Blackburn before deciding to move to Scotland. (Daily Record) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Nicolas Anelka's future at Chelsea is under scrutiny as the striker, whose contract runs out in the summer of 2011, is angry that he will not be offered a new deal this season. (Daily Star) 
Portsmouth goalkeeper David James fears for his England World Cup place after failing to secure a dream move to Tottenham on transfer deadline day. (Daily Mirror) 
The Football Association has been hit by the news that FA Cup sponsors E.On will not be renewing their contract when it expires next May. (Daily Mail) 
Former Manchester United assistant Brian Kidd has been offered the vacant manager's job at Barnsley. (Daily Express) 
However, Rotherham's Mark Robins is also in the frame to replace Simon Davey. (Daily Mirror) 
Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper has told owner Mike Ashley that he needs to start spending money on players if the club are to return to the Premier League next season. (Daily Star) 
England duo Gareth Barry and Wes Brown should be fit for Saturday's friendly against Slovenia despite picking up knocks in training. (The Independent) 

AND FINALLY

Aston Villa winger James Milner, who is aiming for a place in England's World Cup squad next year, is hoping for a more stable season on the domestic front. The 23-year-old has had 13 managers at four different clubs and has never started and finished a campaign under the same boss. (Various) 
Hull striker Daniel Cousin picked the wrong moment to have a pop at manager Phil Brown. The Gabon international, who thought he was off on loan to Burnley, called Brown's tactics "bizarre and illogical" before the proposed switch fell through. (The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk