Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United will be under pressure to sell off up to 15 players at the end of the season to help clear their rising debt, reported to be about £716m. Striker Michael Owen and keeper Ben Foster are likely to be top of the list for the axe.(Daily Star) 
Veteran former Scotland striker Paul Dickov, a free agent after leaving Leicester in January, will join League One title hopefuls Leeds on Monday.(Daily Mail) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Five Chelsea players have pledged their support to former team-mate Wayne Bridge in the wake of their captain John Terry's alleged affair with the Manchester City defender's former partner.(Daily Mail) 
Ipswich manager Roy Keane sympathises with Bridge's decision to quit England, claiming "getting the big contract, the Bentley and the blonde" has replaced playing the international game as "the pinnacle" for players. (Daily Mail) 
Olympic and world sprint champion Usain Bolt is desperate for Manchester United to beat Aston Villa in Sunday's Carling Cup final. He will be watching in his Kingston home and said: "I want to be celebrating at the end."(The Sun) 
Milton Keynes Dons manager Paul Ince is facing the axe, with former Watford and Reading boss Brendan Rodgers being lined up to replace him. (Daily Mail) 
Reading have decided not to appeal against Jobi McAnuff's red card in the FA Cup fifth-round replay victory over West Brom, ruling the winger out of the Royals' quarter-final clash against Aston Villa.(Daily Mail) 
The Premier League could introduce fines if members fail to stick to an agreement made at the start of the season on giving interviews to rights holders. It could lead to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson speaking to the BBC once again. Ferguson fell out with the corporation after a 2004 documentary about his son Jason. (The Independent) 
Rangers manager Walter Smith has told goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who this week claimed he was attacked at a city centre taxi rank, he is on his last chance over his off-the-field antics. (The Sun)
Rangers' Walter Smith says it is understandable that striker Kris Boyd has called off contract talks because of the uncertainty over the club's finances and the manager's future. (Various) 
Scotland's under-fire referees will be wined and dined by the Scottish Football Association before next week's friendly with Czech Republic as a defiant show of support to officials. (The Sun)
Rangers striker Kenny Miller has hit back at Celtic's claims that they get a raw deal from referees, saying he suffered a harsh red card against Dundee United that ruled him out of the last Old Firm derby. (Various) 

AND FINALLY

Former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke is in reflective mood ahead of the Carling Cup final. When asked about a premature end to a four-year Old Trafford career in 2002, he said: "Would I give up the women and nights out for another year at United? Would that make me happy? Would that make me the person I am today? I'm not so sure."(Daily Express)
www.bbc.co.uk

Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Ajax striker Luis Suarez has become one of Chelsea's key targets in the January transfer window. The club are preparing a spending spree that will see them through a potential transfer ban in the summer as punishment for the Gael Kakuta affair.(The Independent) 
Liverpool are targeting Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko in a surprise January move that could result in Reds forward Ryan Babel heading in the opposite direction. (Daily Mail) 
Full-back Andrea Dossena may have played his last game for the Anfield club, with Roma ready to take the Italy international back to Serie A in January. (The Times) 
Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has ruled out a move to the Premier League, insisting he is happy at the Nou Camp.(The Sun) 
Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is interested in signing former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistlerooy.(The Sun) 
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has warned Fenerbahce that striker John Carew is not for sale.(The Sun) 
Tottenham striker Robbie Keane will not be allowed to leave White Hart Lane for Celtic in January. (Daily Express)
Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is keen on Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.(Daily Mirror) 
The Cottagers are making a £1m move for teenage striker Raheem Sterling from neighbours QPR.(Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland are tracking Belgium Under-21 goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.(The Sun) 
Watford want to keep on-loan Arsenal midfielder Henri Lansbury for the rest of the season but they will ask the Gunners to pay half of his wages. (The Sun) 
Doncaster midfielder Brian Stock is a £1.5m target for Reading manager Brendan Rodgers. (The Sun) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is ready to commit himself to another 12 months at Old Trafford if the 39-year-old Dutchman, who is under contract until the summer of 2010, is offered a new deal. (The Sun) 
Portsmouth may have to sell their top players in the new year unless they can find £18m by the start of January to service outstanding debts. (The Sun) 
Former Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate and ex-Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson are favourites to replace Jim Magilton if the former Northern Ireland midfielder parts company with QPR.(Daily Telegraph) 
MK Dons boss Paul Ince and former Charlton and West Ham manager Alan Curbishley are also in the running to take over at Loftus Road if Magilton departs. (Daily Star) 
Former Reading manager Steve Coppell is another in the frame. (Daily Express)
Paul Sturrock's future as Plymouth boss will be discussed at a board meeting on Thursday, with former England striker Paul Mariner, who is head coach at the club, set to replace the Scot. (The Sun) 
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson's future as director of football at Notts County may be decided on Thursday, with the League Two club on the brink of new ownership.(Daily Mail) 
Eriksson is set to launch a takeover bid for Notts County after owners Munto Finance put the club up for sale.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Portsmouth manager Tony Adams is set to become the new boss of Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls and is keen for Barcelona striker and former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry to join him. (The Sun) 
Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith has quelled speculation that they are lining up Dan Petrescu as the next Scotland boss, revealing that the former Chelsea player has not even been selected for an interview yet.(The Times) 

AND FINALLY

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has signed a lucrative new deal - as a children's author. The 20-year-old England international has been signed by a top publisher after he wrote two stories for fun about a hero schoolboy, who happens to be a soccer wonderkid. His tales are poised to go on sale in April. (The Sun) 
Germany could gain a crucial advantage over their 2010 World Cup rivals after the new Adidas Jabulani ball, which will be used at the finals, was introduced into the Bundesliga last weekend. (The Sun) 
Oldham will charge just £2 for fans to watch Saturday's League One clash against Exeter.(The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk