Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Atletico Madrid playmaker Sergio Aguero has expressed his admiration for Chelsea, describing them as "one of the most feared clubs in Europe" and London as being "a really amazing city to live in". The Blues have been linked with a big-money move for the Argentina international.(Daily Express) 
Barcelona are mulling over a move for Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy. The Catalan giants could offer about £10m for a player they tried to sign last summer.(The Guardian) 
Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy's relationship with manager Roberto Mancini has reached breaking point, with the Wales international wanting a move from Eastlands in the summer if the Italian remains in charge.(Daily Mail) 
Liverpool are weighing up an offer for Bolton defender Gary Cahill. Reds boss Rafael Benitez believes £12m may be enough to prise the 24-year-old away from the Reebok Stadium.(Caught Offside) 
Arsenal's Eduardo could be heading to Ligue 1 side Lyon, with the likely arrival of Marouane Chamakh expected to displace the Croatia striker in manager Arsene Wenger's plans.(Caught Offside) 
Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish wants to take Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster on loan next season.(Daily Mirror) 
Ajax manager Martin Jol has told former club Tottenham that they are not big enough to sign striker Luis Suarez.(The Sun) 
Everton are close to wrapping up a deal to sign 24-year-old Standard Liege striker Dieumerci Mbokani.(Footylatest) 
Blackburn are hoping to seal a £5m deal with Lech Poznan for Poland international striker Robert Lewandowski.(Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal midfielder Fran Merida is set to head to Atletico Madrid at the end of the season when his contract with the Gunners runs out. (Daily Mail) 
Manchester United's £10m winger Zoran Tosic has said he wants to make his loan move to Cologne permanent after scoring four goals in his last three games. (Daily Mirror)
Midfielder Paul Scharner will leave Wigan in the summer and claims that Fulham, Everton, Aston Villa and Sunderland are all looking to sign him up.(Daily Mail) 
Slovakia's Vladimir Weiss, the midfielder on loan at Bolton from Manchester City, is set to return to Eastlands next season after growing frustrated with a lack of starts for the Trotters.(Daily Star)
Manchester United are chasing Newcastle's 17-year-old Slovenian midfielder Haris Vuckic, who has made three first-team appearances for the Magpies this season.(Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola will be replaced by former England boss Steve McClaren, currently in charge of Dutch side FC Twente, at the end of the season if the Hammers stay up.(Daily Mail) 
England coach Fabio Capello is considering calling Michael Dawson into his World Cup squad after being impressed by the Tottenham defender's recent performances.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien could return after four months out against Stoke on Sunday.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Al Pacino's American football film Any Given Sunday and Invictus, which recounts South Africa's win at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, were part of the entertainment on board Barcelona's team bus. The European champions are travelling by road to the first leg of their Champions league semi-final againt play Inter Milan.(The Independent) 
Ipswich manager Roy Keane says he wants to sign "four or five real men" next season and will axe up to half his current squad. (Daily Mail) 
Celtic striker Robbie Keane has been voted the club's player of the year, despite only arriving on loan from Tottenham in February. The Republic of Ireland international has scored 13 goals in 15 games. (Daily Mail)
Tottenham forward Roman Pavlyuchenko has claimed Chelsea were fortunate not to lose 6-1 rather than 2-1 at White Hart Lane on Saturday. He describes the Blues players as being "too confident of victory" before the match.(Daily Star)
www.bbc.co.uk

Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Tottenham are keeping tabs on striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's situation at Real Madrid as the Dutchman is out of contract at the end of the season. (The Sun) 
Liverpool are lining up a January move for Hamburg's Dutch midfielder Eljero Elia.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will resist the chance to join former Old Trafford winger Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, pledging himself to the club for life. (Daily Mirror) 
Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan says he is powerless to stop £10m-rated winger Adam Johnson from leaving the club. (The Sun) 
Blackpool and Plymouth are interested in Hull midfielder Peter Halmosi. (Daily Mail)
Sheffield United are preparing a bid for Oldham winger Chris Taylor. (Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea look set to follow Newcastle's example and become the latest club to sell the naming rights for their stadium. (The Sun) 
The Blues want £100m for the Stamford Bridge naming rights. (Daily Mail) 
Or, the club could demand up to £150m to tie a sponsor into a 10-15-year deal.(The Independent) 
Chelsea meanwhile will launch a £50m January spending spree if Fifa lifts its transfer ban on the Blues. (Daily Express) 
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has flown to Spain to see a specialist, amid fresh concerns he requires a hernia operation. (Daily Mirror) 
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has accused Atletico Madrid of 'tapping up' Arsenal's young midfielder Fran Merida.(Daily Mirror) 
The 19-year-old Merida will be offered a new two-year contract by Arsenal to stay at the club.(The Sun) 
Manchester United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak has claimed that fellow Old Trafford stopper Edwin van der Sar offers him no advice and believes the Dutchman does not like him.(The Sun) 
Former Aston Villa manager John Gregory is in contention to become Brighton's new boss after former Reading chief Steve Coppell turned down the opportunity.(The Sun) 
Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa could be out for a month after being told he needs knee surgery. (Daily Mirror) 
England's top-flight clubs will discuss the proposal of a two-tier Premier League, involving Scottish sides Rangers and Celtic, at next Thursday's Premier League meeting.(The Guardian) 
Arsenal's major shareholder Stan Kroenke has provided reassurance to supporters that his involvement with the Gunners will not replicate the controversial model of leveraged takeovers which have caused such anger at Manchester United and Liverpool. (Daily Telegraph) 
Rangers fans claim Romanian police spat in their faces and shouted "Celtic" in their faces during Wednesday's Champions League tie against Unirea Urziceni in Romania. (The Sun)
Superintendent Mike Dean of Strathclyde Police has backed Rangers' claims that poor organisation and heavy-handed policing sparked the trouble in Romania. (Daily Record) 
Uefa will take into consideration the poor disciplinary record of Rangers fans when considering the latest crowd scenes during the Champions League tie with Unirea Urziceni. (Daily Record)
Rangers face being forced to play future European games behind closed doors should Uefa rule against the club's fans. (Daily Express) 
The Scottish FA will launch its own investigation into the violence in Romania with president George Peat warning that Uefa is planning its biggest-ever crackdown on fan violence. (The Sun)
Rangers must find a buyer before June or Lloyds Banking Group will introduce cuts to dramatically scale down the ambition and status of the club. (Daily Mail) 
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray thinks his side can still qualify from their Europa League group despite sitting bottom after the 0-0 draw with Hamburg. (Various)
Falkirk chairman Martin Ritchie has backed under-pressure manager Eddie May, pointing out that he has less money to spend than previous boss John Hughes. (Daily Record) 
Falkirk will back manager Eddie May with £500,000 to spend in the transfer market in January. (Various)

AND FINALLY

Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina has described his side's Champions League form as a disgrace. (Various) 

But former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has backed his former manager Rafael Benitez to turn things around at the troubled club. (Daily Telegraph)

www.bbc.co.uk

Thursday's gossip

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are planning a £12m January swoop for Benfica's Argentine winger Angel Di Maria, who impressed in the Europa League against Everton last month. (Daily Mirror)  
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are weighing up a January move for CSKA Moscow winger Milos Krasic. (Daily Mail)
German side Hertha Berlin are trying to sign former England defender Sol Campbell, 35, on an 18-month contract. (Daily Mail)
Arsenal's teenage Spanish striker Fran Merida hopes to sign a new contract with the Gunners despite interest from Atletico Madrid and a host of other La Liga clubs.(The Sun)
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce hopes to strike a cut-price £4m deal for Nacional Madeira midfielder Ruben Micael. (Daily Mirror)
Hong Kong striker Chan Siu-ki is set to begin a trial spell with Tottenham. Chan has scored 22 goals in 27 appearances for his club, Hong Kong champions South China. (Daily Mail)
Bolton are ready to launch a £4m bid for Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll, who Wanderers boss Gary Megson sees as a long-term replacement for Kevin Davies. (The Sun)
Notts County have joined Ipswich and Coventry in the race to sign Sheffield Wednesday defender Richard Wood, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Daily Star)
Norwich and Bournemouth are competing for the signature of Cambridge United striker Chris Holroyd. (Daily Star)
Notts County have handed a trial to 31-year-old former Porto, Deportivo La Coruna and Juventus defender Jorge Andrade. (Daily Mail)

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez insists he does not fear for his job despite the Reds' hopes of progressing in the Champions League looking unlikely following Wednesday's draw with Lyon. (The Sun)
Newcastle United's revenue was halved from £100m to £50m following their relegation from the Premier League last season.(Daily Mirror)
The Magpies will not receive a penny in extra sponsorship before the end of the season as a result of renaming their stadium. (The Times)
Manchester United's Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher hopes a pain-killing injection will allow him to delay an ankle operation until the end of the season. (The Sun)
But Fletcher's United team-mate Rio Ferdinand is out for up to six weeks after finally admitting defeat in his battle with a long-standing back injury. (The Sun)
Ferdinand could still face Chelsea on Sunday but, if he does miss out, the defender will not be considered for England's friendly with Brazil on 14 November.(Daily Mail)
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra admits he has a miserable record against Chelsea, saying "every time I play them something bad happens" and is determined to triumph in Sunday's Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Mirror)
West Ham striker Carlton Cole and Aston Villa front-man Emile Heskey are both doubtful for England's game with Brazil after picking up injuries in the Hammers' 2-1 win over Villa on Wednesday - and their absence could mean a recall for Manchester United's Michael Owen. (Daily Mail)
Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa is facing a knee operation which could keep him out for up to a month. (Daily Express)
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce believes key midfielder Lee Cattermole can return from a medial ligament injury a month sooner than expected - and could be back in action by Christmas. (Daily Star)
Hull City owner Russell Bartlett has been forced to pay his own money into the club to fund the Tigers' day-to-day trading. The Tigers, who have an annual wage bill of £38m, are struggling to meet their financial commitments.The Guardian)
Portsmouth have described the tax evasion charge facing their chief executive Peter Storrie as "a joke" and have vowed to fight it. (Daily Mirror)
Former Notts County defender Sol Campbell has hit back at claims that he walked out on the Magpies halfway through a training session, saying he had a hamstring injury when he left the League Two club in September. (The Sun)

AND FINALLY

Cardiff City have been warned not to stay overnight in Swansea ahead of Saturday's South Wales derby. Bluebirds boss Dave Jones said: "The police have advised us to stay out of the Swansea area in case fans set off fire alarms to try to wake us up." (The Sun)
Derby defender Jay McEveley has revealed how he cheated death two weeks ago when his heart stopped for two minutes during a routine operation to repair a fractured cheekbone. (Daily Star)
Burnley defnder Tyrone Mears, who faces his first club Manchester City on Saturday, could have been a rugby league star and signed a contract with Warrington Wolves before switching his attention to football. (The Sun)
Celtic boss Tony Mowbray has dismissed statistics showing his side are the most shot-shy team in the Europa League with just 13 shots in their three matches so far. Mowbray said: "My first reaction is to say I'm not interested in what Uefa's computer shows up." (Daily Record)
www.bbc.co.uk