Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea and Manchester City have been alerted after Valencia decided they will sell Spanish international striker David Villa this summer, with the price likely to be about £40m.(The Sun) 
Meanwhile, Manchester United could move for Villa's Valencia team-mate David Silva, with the attacking midfielder likely to fetch around £20m. (The Sun) 
Internacional defensive midfielder Sandro, 21, flew to London on Monday night to undergo a medical with Tottenham but the Brazilian will not officially join Spurs until the summer.(imscouting) 
Inter Milan's Brazilian full-back Maicon, 28, is being lined up for a move to Real Madrid in the summer - although Manchester City could still be an option for the defender. (imscouting) 
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has shelved his plan to sign Roman Pavlyuchenko from Tottenham because the striker's recent form has been too good. The Blues had a £10m bid for the Russian turned down in January.(Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has lined up a deal to sell Albert Riera to Spartak Moscow. It follows the midfielder's outburst in which he described the Anfield club as "a sinking ship". 
(Daily Mail) 
Everton are planning a £650,000 summer swoop for Portugal Under-20 striker Joao Silva, who plays for Desportivo das Aves and is the top scorer in his country's second division. (Daily Mail)
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy hopes to land Ghana striker Jordan Ayew, 19, from French club Marseille - possibly on an initial one-year loan deal. (Daily Mirror)
West Bromwich Albion could make a move for defender Calum Davenport, 27, who is a free agent after being released by West Ham.(The Sun) 
Queens Park Rangers will send on-loan goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, 23, back to Wolves so manager Neil Warnock can bring in more loan signings. (Daily Star)
Doncaster say they cannot afford to sign on-loan striker Billy Sharp, 24, in the summer because his club Sheffield United want £1.5m for him. (Daily Star) 
Former Celtic striker Chris Killen wants to stay with Middlesbrough beyond the end of his current contract, which expires this summer. (Daily Record)

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has owner Roman Abramovich's full backing - unless the Stamford Bridge outfit have a disastrous end to the season. (Daily Star)
Or Ancelotti has 21 days to rescue Chelsea's season and his job or he will be shown the door.(Daily Mirror) 
Meanwhile, Chelsea's injury problems have worsened, with the news that Branislav Ivanovic has been ruled out for a month, leaving the club without their first (Jose Bosingwa) and second-choice right-backs. (Daily Mail) 
Barcelona's French striker Thierry Henry says he does not want to play against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final - and he will not celebrate if he scores against his former side. (Daily Express) 
The Premier League's sale of its overseas broadcasting rights for 2010 to 2013 will raise about £1.4bn, more than double the previous level and a leap of £13m per club, per year.(Daily Mirror) 
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is confident Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano will commit his long-term future to the club. (The Times) 
Former Charlton and West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley is ready to take over as manager of Championship side Bristol City following Gary Johnson's departure last week. (Daily Star)

AND FINALLY

Days after rapper P Diddy was linked with a move to buy Crystal Palace, fellow hip hop superstar Jay-Z has revealed he could be interested in investing some of his estimated £500m fortune in Arsenal.(Daily Mirror)

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Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell, who left League Two Notts County last month after only one game with the club, is in talks to join West Brom.(Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Manchester City forward Robinho are the two main targets for European champions Barcelona this summer. Fabregas, though, has refused to respond to recent Spanish media rumours about a potential move. (Daily Mail)
Arsenal and Manchester City are ready to do battle for the signature of Barcelona's veteran defender Carles Puyol, according to reports in Spain.(Daily Mail) 
The agent of Inter Milan defender Maicon believes Manchester United have upped their interest in the Brazilian but insists there are no offers on the table. "United's interest in my client is not something new," he said. "They have been following him for a while."(Daily Mirror) 
Manchester City manager Mark Hughes will be given the funds to bring at least three new players to Eastlands this January to boost their Premier League title bid.(Daily Mail)
Roman Pavlyuchenko's agent expects to reopen negotiations over the Tottenham Hotspur striker's proposed moved to Zenit St Petersburg this January.(Daily Mail) 
The agent of former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has put a number of European clubs on alert by admitting his client could leave Serie A club Fiorentina in January.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Icelandic biscuit baron Eggert Magnusson is plotting to return as the new owner of West Ham. The 62-year-old previously held a 5% stake in the club from November 2006 to December 2007 as the figurehead of the consortium largely backed by Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who relinquished control of the club in June 2009.(The Sun) 
Liverpool co-owner George Gillett is flying to Saudi Arabia next week for talks in a bid to sell his 50% stake in the club to Prince Faisal bin Fahd.(Daily Mirror )
Birmingham chairman David Gold is close to resigning and is set to follow David Sullivan and Karren Brady out of St Andrews following the takeover of the club by Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung. (Daily Mirror) 
Former Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards fears the club could be thrown into financial ruin if current owners the Glazer family decide to leave Old Trafford.(Daily Mail)
The FA will call upon David Beckham and the Royal Family to boost their 2018 World Cup bid after the campaign was attacked by Fifa vice-president Jack Warner on Wednesday.(Daily Mirror) 
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has revealed that regular chats with boss Arsene Wenger have given him confidence to believe he can fulfil his potential.(The Sun) 
Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, now with Dinamo Kiev has launched an attack on his former boss at Chelsea Jose Mourinho, saying that the now Inter Milan boss rarely spoke to him during his time at Stamford Bridge.(Daily Mirror) 
Everton striker Louis Saha has admitted he almost quit football after being driven to the depths of despair by an injury jinx that wrecked his Manchester United career.(Daily Mail) 
Hull striker Caleb Folan, currently on loan at Middlesbrough, has hit back at Tigers manager Phil Brown, saying comments the latter made about the players attitude in training were "pathetic" and "childish".(Daily Star) 
Ipswich striker Kevin Lisbie, currently on loan at Colchester, says he would find it difficult to play under Town manager Roy Keane again after being told he was surplus to requirements at Portman Road this summer.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Burnley manager Owen Coyle, 43, played 72 minutes as a striker for the club's reserve side on Wednesday after injuries and international calls left them short of players.(The Sun) 
Manchester City have sent club doctor Jamie Butler on a 7,000 mile trip to Argentina to ensure that Pablo Zabaleta, who has a hamstring injury, is not selected by his country for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Peru and Uruguay.(Daily Mirror)
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Tuesday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo says he wants to follow coach Carlo Ancelotti from the San Siro to Chelsea, and Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi has hinted they could let him go (Daily Mirror). 
Real Madrid's former Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze says he would be open to the idea of playing in England again if Madrid let him go (Sky Sports).

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are talking to Brazilian club Gremio about a deal for their 18-year-old midfielder Douglas Costa - dubbed the new Cristiano Ronaldo.(The Times) 
Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has hinted he could leave if Alan Shearer does not get the manager's job at St James' Park.(Daily Telegraph) 
Atletico Madrid, Sunderland and Sevilla are all chasing Tottenham midfielder Didier Zokora. (The Sun)
West Ham, Aston Villa, Everton and Fulham are all in the running to sign former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen after Barcelona confirmed he can leave for the right price (Daily Mirror).
Wolves are ready to break their club's transfer record with a £6.5m move for Reading forward Kevin Doyle(Daily Mail) 
Highly rated Sheffield United youngster Kyle Naughton could be sold to bring in money for several new signings, with Aston Villa and Everton keen on the £5m-rated defender.(Daily Mail) 
Argentine striker Carlos Tevez's next transfer after he leaves Manchester United will be heavily scrutinised by the Premier League to ensure there is no third-party ownership involved.(The Guardian) 
Chelsea are having talks with CSKA Moscow about £15m-rated left-back Yuri Zhirkov. (The Times) 
They are also interested in Inter Milan right-back Maicon after missing out on Glen Johnson, who joined Liverpool. (The Sun) 
Hull, Wolves and Portsmouth are all challenging Celtic for the signature of Nancy striker Marc-Antoine Fortune, who played under new Celtic boss Tony Mowbray on loan at West Brom last season. (Daily Record)
Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo is targeting moves for Aberdeen striker Lee Miller and out-of-contract Motherwell midfielder Stephen Hughes. (Daily Star)
Venezuela midfielder Juan Arango claims Celtic are among the clubs chasing his £3m signature from Mallorca. (Scottish Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool may need to treble Javier Mascherano's wages to keep the midfielder at the club after signing defender Glen Johnson from Portsmouth. Mascherano is believed to be unhappy because he is paid less than most of his team-mates.(Daily Mirror) 
England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce says he is "inept" compared to England senior boss Fabio Capello and may need more club management experience before furthering his international coaching career. (The Times) 
Titus Bramble is poised to be named Wigan's new captain, taking over from Mario Melchiot (The Sun).
Matthew Le Tissier's consortium bidding to buy Southampton have been told they cannot appeal against the club's 10-point penalty for going into administration (The Sun). 
Motherwell are widening their managerial search to include former Sunderland boss Malcolm Crosby and ex-Stockport gaffer Jim Gannon. (Daily Star)
However, former Northern Ireland and Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez is leading the race to take over at Fir Park. (Scottish Sun) 
Celtic midfielder Scott Brown needs ankle surgery and is a doubt for the club's Champions League qualifying campaign. (Scottish Sun)
Uefa have delayed Celtic's planned tie up with Hungarian side Upjest, stalling Parkhead reserve coach Willie McStay's takeover as manager in Budapest. (Scottish Sun) 

AND FINALLY

Newcastle have unveiled a new yellow striped two-tone away kit for next season.(The Sun) 
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole had his late grandmother's wedding ring resized for him to wear when he got married at the weekend. (The Sun)
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Ecuador - Brazil

This game will be played in capital Quito on the big height which is a big problem for the most away teams. And that is perhaps the biggest home side strength. Ecuador shows big improvement in the last ten years, two times they qualified for World Championship. In this campaign, situation isn't so bright. They lie on 7th place, four points less than 5th Chile (5th position guarantee play-off games with best Oceania's team) and four less than 4th Urugay(and a game less from them). In Quito, Ecuador already lost four points at home (Colombia 0-0 and Venecuela 0-1) and they expect two very tough games, against Brazil and Paraguay. Tonight they'll have to go for a win. That may be a problem considering their opponent. But, in their three last games in Quito, Ecuador has already won twice by 1-0 and one game ended 0-0.  Felix Borja, Carlos Tenorio and Pedro Quinonez are sidelined 'cause the injuries, but two key defenders have recovered: Antonio Valencia and Edison Mendez. Excellent Man City striker Felipe Caicedo will start in offence line, with Christian Benitez. There is no doubt Ecuador will attack! That guarantee good game.

Brazil continue with torturing under the charge of Carlos Dunga. 17 points from 10 games are not something that five times world champions can be proud with. They have three straight 0-0 home draws (which says they have problems with defensive teams) and two convincing away wins, Chile 3-0 and Venezuela 4-0 (which says they like to be attacked, as Ecuador intend to do). Dunga continues to annoy the audience. This time he failed under the pressure and called Ronaldinho who usually warms the bench in Milan. Kaka has some foot problems, Adriano is in doubt too. But their attack even without these two looks masterful and scary. Robinho will start, there are Luis Fabiano and Pato. Brazil will pass the group stage, of course, but tonight is all about the pride and revenge for previous defeats.

I've been thinking a lot about the bet. We'll watch open game from the first whistle. Think Caicedo and Benitez in clash with central def. Maicon and Marcelo can score. Who knows, maybe we'll see the end of Dunga's era, tonight. So, over before the away win. Betfair offers unreal 2.14. the rest about 2.00, including Expekt.I burnt my fingers yesterday, my stake will be small. Seat back and enjoy in footie, lads!