Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool are on the verge of a deal to sign Milan Jovanovic on a free transfer in the summer after further talks with the Standard Liege and Serbia striker. (The Times) 
Arsenal are set to beat Tottenham in the race to sign centre-half Stefan Savic from BSK Borca after the 19-year-old Serb completed a 10-day trial with the club.(Daily Mirror) 
Barcelona vice-president Alfons Godall has stepped up the pressure on Arsenal by insisting that Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas will end up at the Nou Camp "sooner or later".(The Sun) 
Manchester United are still interested in Racing Santander midfielder Sergio Canales, who is also wanted by Real Madrid. (Daily Mail) 
Birmingham did not sign striker Roman Pavlyuchenko during the January transfer window because Tottenham increased their asking price to £12m at the last minute.(Daily Star) 
Manchester City are lining up a summer bid for Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez.( imscouting.com) 
Cash-strapped Portsmouth have replaced Tottenham-bound Younes Kaboul with former Spurs defender Ricardo Rocha.(Daily Mirror) 
Pompey are also closing in on deal for Serbia defender Dusko Tosic.(Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

England manager Fabio Capello is expected to retain Chelsea defender John Terry as his captain when the pair meet on Friday, unless there are more allegations about his private life.(Daily Mirror) 
However, Capello is concerned that more revelations will come out this weekend and will delay making a decision on Terry's captaincy until Sunday at the very earliest.(The Independent) 
And senior officials at the Football Association have told Capello that Terry should not continue as England skipper.(Daily Telegraph) 
Chelsea are ready to give Terry some time off to get him out of the media firing line, while the club employed extra security to control members of the paparazzi outside the team hotel for the Premier League match with Hull on Tuesday evening.(The Times) 
Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr have less than six months to secure the £100m investment demanded by their creditors or they run the risk of being forced to put the club up for sale.(The Times) 
And Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been asked about his future plans by Real Madrid.( imscouting.com) 
Former Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak will not force the cash-strapped club into administration despite Pompey missing a deadline to pay a £9.5m instalment on the £30m he claims he is owed.(The Guardian) 
Manchester United defender Gary Neville has been frozen out at Old Trafford following his touchline gesture to Manchester City's Carlos Tevez during last month's Carling Cup semi-final first leg.(The Sun) 
Stoke midfielder Matthew Etherington insists he is winning his fight to overcome a gambling addiction and has been given a pay rise by the club to help him pay off debts that spiralled to £800,000.(Daily Mail)
Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate is concerned that he may have to quit football as he battles to overcome the long-term groin injury that has restricted him to only three Premier League games this season.(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who has been out injured since September 2008, could make a return to the squad for the Champions League tie with AC Milan if he completes a week of full training.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Burnley boss Brian Laws says he felt like X-Factor judge Simon Cowell as he auditioned new players to come to the club during the January transfer window.(Daily Mirror) 
Carlos Tevez says the infamous 'Welcome to Manchester' poster, which caused so much controversy following his move from United to City over the summer, is now on a wall at his home in Argentina. (The Sun)
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Everton - Tottenham Hot.

Everton find themselves at 16th place with just two points more than teams from relegation zone. Considering players’ potential they’re probably in the top six, but injury crisis that has been shaking the club since the season start is actually the main reason for poor run of results. Everton have only two competitive wins in last twelve games! At Wednesday they defeated AEK 1-0 in Greece, but the price was another three injuries! Sylvain Distin, Dan Gosling and Jo have joined a Toffees injury list. Long time injured are Anichebe, Arteta, Jagielka, Neville and Vaughan. Joseph Yobo are unlikely to return in time from hamstring strains, while Leon Osman is struggling with an ankle problem. Johnny Heitinga is suspended after he picked up his fifth booking of the season last weekend. In total – eleven players!

Tottenham play the season that could be different from the others. They always have big funds, top-quality players but break in the top of English football was just a dream. It seems the decisive move was bringing Harry Redknap for a manager. Spurs hold the fourth place and with possible three points today will even climb for one more position. As Everton, they also had a mid-week game at Old Trafford and notice an unlucky defeat. However, before that game Redknap stated that Premier is much more important and I think they don’t look behind too much. Spurs are once again without first choice centre-backs Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate, but they used to cope with it. Redknapp is likely to recall the first-team players who were rested against Manchester United.

Despite all those injuries Everton have some attacking potential, but defense line looks very vulnerable. At this moment, Everton probably can’t be competitive against any top club in Premier. On the other hand, Spurs still have an inferiority complex when play against big four, but in other games they will always be the favorites. As today. Pinnacle offer 2.39. Away win, probably without over.

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Tottenham Hot. - Stoke City

After nine rounds left, Tottenham hold the third place and after many years seem as a serious contender to break top-four of English football end earn a Champions League spot. With “’Arry” in charge, team finally looks more than competitive. Only two failures came after the clashes against probably the best league clubs Man.Utd.(1-3 at home) and Chelsea (0-3 on the road) and those are the only two games where Spurs didn’t score at least twice! Also, they look in a great shape recently, with three wins (Preston North End 5-1, Burnley 5-0 and Portsmouth 2-1) and a draw (Bolton Wanderers 2-2) in last four competitive games. Main story in English press is missing of excellent Jermaine Defoe who got a red card against Pompey. In my opinion it won’t be such a big lose, ‘cause his replacement Peter Crouch could be more useful against the team who will defend with 10 players, which Stoke surely plan to perform. Jonathan Woodgate played in a midweek friendly against Dag&Red and could make his first-team comeback this weekend, while Modric stays absent with a broken leg. 

Stoke have been noticing their dream start of the recent campaign. And while their tough performance at Britannia Stadium were expected, their recent good run on the road with three undefeated encounters (all three draws, Birmingham City, Bolton Wanderers and Everton) looks a little bit surprising. They play tactically almost perfect with strong defense displays (Huth, Shawcross, Collins and Faye back), waiting a chance from some set piece or counter attack. However, those chances haven’t come too often, Potters have some problems to score on the road and they also don’t have an away win so far. Considering statistics as well, they’ll have to wait more for it, as Stoke have only beaten Tottenham once in 29 attempts at White Hart Lane - a 2-0 win in 1975. They’ll have a chance to take something from this match as far as they manage to keep the clean sheet. Missing of key defender, Robert Huth, who has been banned for three matches for punching West Ham defender Matthew Upson, surely won’t help. Irish Glenn Whelan should return, but fellow midfielder Liam Lawrence is doubtful after missing training with a virus.

Tottenham possess more than decent quality, big spendings finally started to produce some results on the field, team looks in a great shape and they’re clear favorites here. Stoke have decent run of results, but the problem is they play over their real capabilities. Drop in form is unavoidable and I think it starts at White Hart Lane. My pick is home win with -1 handicap, bet365 offer 1.75.

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Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Tottenham are prepared to listen to Italian club AC Milan about a potential swap deal involving Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.(Daily Mirror) 
Meanwhile, Pavlyuchenko's agent has dismissed reports that the Russia striker has already signed a contract with Zenit St Petersburg. (The Independent) 
Manchester City forward Robinho will ask for a January move if he fails to win first team football at Eastlands. Barcelona are ready to make a £32.5m offer. (The Sun) 
Barcelona could offer centre-back Carles Puyol or midfielder Yaya Toure as part of the deal. (Daily Star) 
Or, Manchester City may us Robinho as bait to land Barcelona defender Eric Abidal. (The Times) 
Manchester City and Spanish side Real Madrid will battle it out in the summer for Bayern Munich's £65m-rated Franck Ribery.(The Sun) 
Blackburn and Sunderland are both keen on Stromgodset's £2m-rated Norwegian striker Marcus Pedersen.(The Sun) 
West Brom have failed in a bid to sign former Notts County defender Sol Campbell, who is now a free agent after walking out on the club in September(The Sun) 
Portsmouth have reiterated their desire to keep hold of keeper David James who is a reported target of Manchester United and Tottenham. (Daily Express) 
Wigan are weighing up a move for Aston Villa's Emile Heskey, who left the Latics last January. Heskey is keen to secure first-team football in order to cement his England World Cup place.(The Independent)

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OTHER GOSSIP

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be protected by his own team of bouncers when he returns to old club Portsmouth on Saturday.(Daily Mirror) 
Notts County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson is being lined up to manage North Korea at the 2010 World Cup finals. (The Sun) 
And, Eriksson is tempted by the move and has flown out to east Asia to hold final talks with North Korea. (The Guardian) 
Or, Eriksson has turned down the opportunity to manage North Korea and is not interested in another national role. (The Times) 
Meanwhile Notts County fans are begging Eriksson not to bring in David Platt as manager to replace recently sacked Ian McParland. (The Sun) 
North Queensland Fury have dismissed reports linking striker Robbie Fowler with a move to League One side Tranmere as player-coach.(Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri says he is ready for a return to first team football having been out injured since July with a broken leg. (The Sun)
Former Celtic striker Henrik Larsson has revealed it will be a "dream" to return to the club as manager one day. (Daily Record) 
Newcastle United midfielder Nicky Butt has urged owner Mike Ashley to give temporary manager Chris Hughton the job full time. (The Sun) 
Meanwhile, the American consortium bidding to buy Newcastle expect an answer on the success of their bid from Ashley this week. (Daily Mail) 
Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate could be close to a return to action from his groin injury after coming through a practice match on Tuesday.(Daily Mail) 

AND FINALLY

England manager Fabio Capello has held crisis talks with defender Rio Ferdinand about his defensive nightmare against Ukraine on Saturday.(Various) 
Ruthless Capello also told midfielder David Beckham he was too tired to play and banished him to the stands on Saturday. (Daily Mail)
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Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Defender Joleon Lescott will write to Everton chairman Bill Kenwright and ask to join big-spending Manchester City. (Daily Mirror)
However, Lescott has been told that despite his desire to leave Goodison Park he will not be allowed to move to Eastlands. (Daily Star) 
Manchester City will call a halt to their pursuit of Lescott if they cannot get him to Eastlands by the end of the week. (The Sun) 
With Xabi Alonso's departure to Real Madrid imminent, Liverpool will replace the midfielder with Roma's Alberto Aquilani. (Daily Mirror) 
The Reds have agreed a deal in principle with Roma and will splash out £20m on the Italian 25-year-old. (The Sun) 
Arsenal are on the verge of signing Chelsea's Ivory Coast forward Salomon Kalou for £8m. (The Sun) 
Chelsea have moved closer to the £8m signing of AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who could arrive in time for Sunday's Community Shield clash with Manchester United. (Daily Mirror)
The Blues, meanwhile, have dismissed speculation linking midfielder Joe Cole with a move to London rivals Tottenham. (The Independent) 
Having completed a medical on Monday, Tottenham striker Darren Bent is expected to finally seal his £12m transfer to Sunderland on Tuesday. (Daily Express) 
Bent's departure will pave the way for Spurs to step up their pursuit of Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. (Daily Express) 
Everton are preparing a £12m bid for Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour. (Daily Mirror)
However, Defour is also on Liverpool's wish list as they look to bolster their midfield options. (Daily Mail) 
West Ham are confident they can persuade right-back Lucas Neill to remain at the club.(The Independent) 
Bolton are looking to sign Valencia midfielder Miguel Angel Angulo on a free transfer. (The Sun) 
Hull will turn their attentions to Tottenham full-back Pascal Chimbonda, if their bid for Newcastle defender Habib Beye fails.(The Sun) 
Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong is ready to hand in a transfer request in order to get a move to Tottenham or Manchester City. (Daily Mirror) 
Hull will battle it out with Fulham for Villarreal striker Jozy Altidore. (Daily Star)
Nottingham Forest have launched a £2m bid for Bolton defender Danny Shittu. (Daily Star) 
Striker Amr Zaki could join Portsmouth on a season-long loan from Egyptian side El Zamalek.(The Independent) 
Hamilton Accies are close to deals for Leicester midfielder James Wesolowski and Spanish defender Luis Rubiales. (Various) 
Frozen-out Rangers forward Alan Gow is a target for Plymouth. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is set to commit himself to the Blues by signing a new three-year contract. (Daily Express)
Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate may need another hernia operation, ruling him out of the first month of the 2009/10 Premier League season. (Daily Mail) 
Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Viera, who is wanted by both Arsenal and Tottenham, has been told he will need to resolve his future if he is to win back his place in the French national side.(Daily Mail) 
Portsmouth have warned they may have to sell more players to survive their financial troubles. (The Sun) 
Veteran winger Ryan Giggs has revealed how training ground bust-ups are a regular occurrence at Manchester United, but help combat fatigue and keep the squad competitive.(Daily Mirror)

AND FINALLY

Former Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo's legs have been insured for £90m by his new club Real Madrid.(The Sun) 
Meanwhile, Ronaldo's old house in Alderley Edge, Cheshire has been snapped up by new Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor for £5.5m. The former Arsenal striker beat off competition from team-mates Kolo Toure, Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez as well as Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia. (The Sun) 
Derby County midfielder Robbie Savage has revealed he has a sleepwalking problem that once resulted in him dragging a team-mate out of bed, having imagined a train was going to hit the building.(Daily Star) 
Russia fans have been told to drink whisky on their trip to Wales for September's World Cup qualifier to avoid catching swine flu. (Daily Express)
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