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Wednesday's gossip column - transfers and rumours

BREAKING GOSSIP

0930 GMT:Ex-Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini would rather remain at AC Milan than return to England amid reports the Italian club will offer the France international a new deal. (PA)

0830 GMT: Juventus director Roberto Bettega insists goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is not for sale and is confident the Italy international will still be be playing for the Serie A giants next season. (PA)

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Inter Milan are set to launch a bid for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
Full story: imscouting.com

Ajrjen Robben has called for Chelsea and Real Madrid target Franck Ribery to stay at Bayern Munich.
Full story: imscouting.com

Chelsea are closing in on Real Madrid's £10m-rated Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.
Full story: The Sun

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp insists he has no interest in signing Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole, who is likely to be available on a free transfer at the end of the season.
Full story: The Guardian

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has rejected a a bid by Spartak Moscow to sign winger Albert Riera on loan.
Full story: Daily Mail

Fulham are favourites to snap up Wigan defender Paul Scharner when he quits at the end of his contract in the summer.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is lining up a £1m bid for Notts County goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been put up for sale by the Serie A giants, who hope to lure Manchester City and Bayern Munich into an auction to raise £30m for the Italy international.
Full story: Daily Mirror

OTHER GOSSIP

England and Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has lost his position as the best paid footballer in the world to Lionel Messi, with the Barcelona forward's annual pay rising to £29.6m.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Arsenal captain William Gallas is ready to sign a new contract following showdown talks between the club and his agent Pierre Frelot.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Gunners midfielder Andrey Arshavin has claimed the north Londoners will not win the title because they do not have enough "real stars".
Full story: Various

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed striker Robin van Persie is looking "very sharp" and could be back playing before the end of the season.
Full story: The Independent

West Ham are set to launch their bid to rent the Olympic Stadium after the Games in 2012.
Full story: The Independent 

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is confident he will still be in he job next season, even if he wins nothing this term.
Full story: Various

Everton manager David Moyes believes Manchester City's megabucks stars have no genuine feeling for their club.
Full story: Daily Star

Peterborough boss Jim Gannon is poised to sign a new four-year contract. (Daily Star)

England coach Fabio Capello has been given a boost after Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Blues defender Ashley Cole will be able to resume running in training in a fortnight as he steps up his rehabilitation from a fractured ankle.
Full story: The Guardian

Outgoing Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney has accused the Football Association of failing to face up to its structural problems in the wake of the shock departure of its chief executive, Ian Watmore.
Full story: The Guardian

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has spoken out against Wembley Stadium being used for sports other than football following the disunity at the FA that led to Watmore's resignation.
Full story: Daily Mail

Manchester United defender Gary Neville will be handed a one-year contract extension by the club this summer.
Full story: Daily Mirror

AND FINALLY

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has criticised Jamie O'Hara for saying he hopes Spurs lose their FA Cup quarter-final replay against Fulham to give the on-loan Portsmouth midfielder the chance of playing in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Full story: Daily Mail

 

Friday's gossip column - transfers and rumours

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City will revive an £11m move for Hamburg's German defender Jerome Boateng in the summer and are also keen on highly-rated Osasuna right-back Cesar Azpilicueta, 20.
Full story: Daily Mail

Everton are being linked with a move for Dinamo Zagreb's Croatian centre-forward Mario Mandzukic, 23.
Full story: Daily Mail

Lokomotiv Moscow have not given up on signing Roman Pavlyuchenko from Tottenham. 
Full story: Daily Mail

Spurs could be lining up a summer move for Lazio's former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas 'The Hammer' Hitzlsperger, 27, after the German struggled to settle in Italy.
Full story: The Sun

Nice striker Loic Remy is keen to join Arsenal in the summer.
Full story: TribalFootball.com

The Gunners have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Stuttgart's 15-year-old goalkeeper Odessas Vlachidimos for £1m.
Full story: Daily Mail

Newcastle defender Steven Taylor, reportedly involved in a training ground bust-up with team-mate Andy Carroll, will leave this summer with Everton and Aston Villa chasing the 24-year-old.
Full story: The Sun

Portsmouth have been offered £250,000 by Spartak Moscow to terminate Quincy Owusu-Abeyie's loan early and send him back to the Russian side.
Full story: Daily Mail

Birmingham are ready to offer Matthew Taylor an escape route from Bolton by bidding £2m for the unhappy 28-year-old this summer.
Full story: The Sun

Stoke City are interested in Congo-born Belgian striker Christian Benteke, 19, who is on loan at KV Kortrijk from Standard Liege.
Full story: Daily Mail

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is reportedly keen on Nantes youngster Jonathan Nanizayamo.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is plotting a double raid on cash-strapped Portsmouth with a joint £1.5m bid for Tommy Smith and Aaron Mokoena.
Full story: The Sun

Everton want to lure Bristol City youngster Christian Ribeiro to Goodison Park.
Full story: TribalFootball.com

Nottingham Forest have suffered more transfer frustration after failing to land Aston Villa left-back Wilfred Bouma on loan.
Full story: Daily Mirror

OTHER GOSSIP

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola banned team co-owner David Sullivan from a meeting with his players after their relationship broke down in the wake of Sullivan's highly critical open letter to fans.
Full story: Daily Mail 

Zola says he is confident he can keep the Hammers in the Premier League, but is less confident he will still be manager next season. I think he is in the Summer aswel
Full story: Daily Express

Norwich boss Paul Lambert, a former Celtic player, is the favourite to succeed Tony Mowbray on a permanent basis as manager of the Bhoys - with Henrik Larsson an outside bet. I must say i wouldn't mind letting him have a bash at it.
Full story: The Times

Craig Bellamy is being investigated by Manchester City after allegations of an incident in the players' tunnel at the end of their 2-0 defeat by Everton on Wednesday.Bellers again, he can't keep out of trouble
Full story: Daily Mail

Meanwhile, Everton want an apology from Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook after he had a VIP fan and his wife thrown out of Eastlands.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has told his players their Premier League game against Birmingham on Saturday is the "priority" over next week's Champions League meeting with Barcelona.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Wenger has suspended contract talks with stars such as William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre, refusing to discuss terms until crucial matches are out of the way.
Full story: The Guardian

Meanwhile, the Gunners could welcome back Dutch striker Robin van Persie within three weeks as he continues to make progress after an ankle ligament injury.
Full story: The Sun

Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira has revealed some of Chelsea's older players fear they will never win the Champions League after last week's last 16 defeat to Inter Milan.
Full story: Daily Star

No such worries at Liverpool, where midfielder Javier Mascherano has pledged his future to the club and expects to sign a new contract soon.
Full story: PremierLeague.com

Though Reds legend Phil Thompson has urged stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to threaten to quit the club unless there is real investment in the playing squad at Anfield.
Full story: The Sun

Portsmouth boss Avram Grant will ask Tottenham's permission to let on-loan midfielder Jamie O'Hara play in the two sides' FA Cup semi-final meeting next month.Harry will never agree to that 
Full story: Daily Mirror

England fans are angry that the team will play three Euro 2012 qualifiers on Fridays so that players can return to their clubs a day early.
Full story: The Guardian

Portsmouth's Ricardo Rocha has accused Chelsea star Florent Malouda of setting out to hurt him with a swipe of the elbow during the teams' Premier League clash on Wednesday.
Full story: Daily Mail

Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has moved a step closer to a return after being pulled out of a reserves game to train with the first team.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Sven-Goran Eriksson, Mark Hughes and Bernd Schuster will find out on Friday which one of them is to coach Ivory Coast at the World Cup in South Africa this summer. (Daily Express)

Burnley are facing a mass exodus in the summer after refusing to give in to players' wage demands, with 11 first-teamers out of contract at the end of the season. (Daily Star)

Former Peterborough manager Mark Cooper has emerged as the favourite to replace Steve Staunton as boss of Darlington.
Full story: The Sun

AND FINALLY

Paul Gascoigne confronted an imposter who posed as him on social networking site Twitter, taking a photo of himself in front of a TV news channel displaying the date and time to prove he was the real Gazza.
Full story: Daily Star

Riot police in Brazil restored order in a league match between Genus and Moto Clube by baton-charging and then pepper-spraying the players.
Full story: The Sun

Three-time world player of the year Ronaldo has apologised for making an obscene gesture to fans of his Corinthians team in Brazil after their defeat by Paulista.
Full story: NBC

Juventus goalkeeper Antonio Chimenti was so upset after conceding a 35-yarder against Sampdoria that he broke his hand punching a dressing room table. (The Sun)

 

They were replaced by a certain Cambridge United, no less !  

Good stuff, although they will still need the money.

Wednesday's gossip column - transfers and rumours

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Chelsea and Tottenham are eyeing up a £13m move for Everton's Steven Pienaar following rumours that the midfielder wants to play Champions League football.
Full story: Caughtoffside.com

Liverpool are planning an audacious move for Real Madrid striker Raul and want the 32-year-old to partner fellow Spaniard Fernando Torres up front.
Full story: Caughtoffside.com

Albert Riera's proposed switch from Liverpool to Spartak Moscow has stalled after the 27-year-old winger failed to agree personal terms.
Full story: Daily Mail

Blackburn are ready to sign striker Aruna Dindane in a £2m deal - and let him play on for Portsmouth to save his FA Cup and World Cup dreams.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Chelsea midfielder Deco could be on his way to Fluminese. The Brazilian side are trying to get the 32-year-old midfielder on the cheap but Corinthians and Flamingo are also interested.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Arsenal are checking out Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto and may try to prise him away from Serie A side Catania with a £9m bid.
Full story: Caughtoffside.com

Bolton manager Owen Coyle wants midfielder Jack Wilshere, 18, to stay for another season following a string of impressive performances since moving on loan from Arsenal in January.
Full story: Daily Star

OTHER GOSSIP

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is not leaving Villa Park and instead has held a crunch meeting with his players in which he demanded a vast improvement after their 7-1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell is set to sign a new four-and-a-half-year deal with the Toffees, earning him £25,000 a week. The news will disappoint Manchester United and Chelsea, who have had their eyes on the 19-year-old.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Blackburn midfielder Martin Olsson will not be charged with improper conduct, despite admitting that he dived to win his side a penalty against Burnley on Sunday.
Full story: Daily Mail

West Ham's joint-chairman David Sullivan is in Dubai seeking new investment in the club.
Full story: The Sun 

AND FINALLY

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has had a ticking-off - not from boss Rafael Benitez but his English teacher. The Italian, who joined the Merseyside club from Roma eight months ago, said: "I'm not having regular lessons at the moment. At first I did but it has been difficult more recently and my English teacher is angry about this." 
Full story: The Sun

 

Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Inter Milan's ambitious attempts to sign midfielder Steven Gerrard could see forward Mario Balotelli go in the other direction to Liverpool.
Full story: Daily Mail

Wolfsburg's £25m-rated striker Edin Dzeko, a target of Chelsea and Manchester City, says he is open to a move to England despite AC Milan being his preferred option.
Full story: Daily Mail

AC Milan are lining up a £20m bid for Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic after making the defender their top priority in this summer's transfer market.
Full story: Daily Star

Manchester United could move for unsettled Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson attempted to buy the £30m-rated Frenchman from Lyon last summer.
Full story: caughtoffside.com

Blackburn have agreed a £2m fee with Aruna Dindane's parent club Lens and may loan the striker back to Portsmouth where he has spent this season on loan. (Daily Mail)

West Bromwich Albion are ready to rival Wigan for Hamilton's £2m-rated midfielder James McArthur.
Full story: Daily Mail

Notts County have told Birmingham and Blackburn they can have keeper Kasper Schmeichel in the summer - but the cash-strapped League Two side have put a £2m price tag on him.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce will use this weekend's meeting with Tottenham to sound out the possibility of making Spurs full-back Alan Hutton's loan spell at the Stadium of Light permanent. (Daily Mirror)

OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas may have already fractured his right leg before taking to the pitch against Barcelona on Wednesday. The injury is on exactly the same spot the Gunners captain hurt when tackled by Birmingham's Craig Gardner last weekend.
Full story: The Sun

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has reprimanded his midfielder Martin Olsson for cheating to win a crucial penalty in the 1-0 win against local rivals Burnley last weekend.
Full story: Daily Mail

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola may be replaced by assistant Steve Clarke at the end of the season. Former England boss Steve McClaren  is also in the running for the post should the Hammers preserve their top-flight status.
Full story: Daily Telegraph

Tottenham defender Ledley King is set to be offered a two-year extension to his current White Hart Lane deal. (Daily Express)

Portsmouth and England goalkeeper David James has been ordered to cut back his workload to avoid aggravating a niggling calf injury during the closing stages of the season. (Daily Express)

Derby captain Robbie Savage says that Celtic should appoint former Blackburn and Manchester City boss Mark Hughes as their manager ahead of caretaker Neil Lennon.WTF has it got to do with him 
Full story: Daily Record

AND FINALLY

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti's attempt at an April Fool gag was scuppered by midfielder Michael Ballack. The Italian told his squad their training hours would double ahead of their match with Manchester United, but Ballack immediately called his bluff.
Full story: Daily Mirror

West Ham striker Mido has been given the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" by his team-mates in reference to his weight and running style.
Full story: Daily Telegraph

Australians were taken in by an April Fools spoof radio interview with a David Beckham impersonator that claimed the LA Galaxy midfielder would coach their national team in this summer's World Cup. The sports minister even rang the Australian Football Association to congratulate it on the coup.
Full story: Daily Star

 

Sunday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal are set to confirm the signing of Bordeaux's Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh on a £12m four-year deal.
Full story: Mail on Sunday

Or the Gunners may instead decide to try to sign 22-year-old striker Loic Remy, who is valued at £12m by his side Nice.
Full story: caughtoffside.com

But the Gunners could lose Cesc Fabregas with new Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell preparing to launch a £50m bid to bring the Arsenal captain back to the club of his youth.
Full story: Mail on Sunday

Tottenham have joined Chelsea and Manchester City in the race to sign £25m-rated Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

Manchester United's hopes of landing long-term target Karim Benzema have been boosted by claims Real Madrid are ready to let the Frenchman leave the Bernabeu on loan next season.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

United are trying to hijack neighbours Manchester City's bid to sign £11m-rated Hamburg centre-back Jerome Boateng.
Full story: News of the World

Fulham are in talks with Fenerbahce's Turkey international striker Semih Senturk, who is available on a free transfer in the summer. (News of the World)

Wigan midfielder James McCarthy is set to snub a move to Arsenal, having already rejected a transfer to Liverpool. (News of the World)

Palermo are set to renew their interest in West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

Bolton are lining up a move for German striker Cacau after he confirmed he is set to leave Stuttgart on a free this summer.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

Benfica are set to offer Liverpool's Brazilian keeper Diego Cavalieri an escape route out of the Anfield club this summer.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool are on course to secure fresh investment, or even completely new owners before the end of the season after a deadline was extended for a potential buy-out of George Gillett and Tom Hicks.
Full story: Mail on Sunday

But Liverpool are set to reject a £110m deal from New York-based fund management company Rhone Group - the offer expires on Monday.
Full story: Independent on Sunday

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that the club's potential to win trophies will determine whether he commits his future to them. The Frenchman is under contract until 2011 but Real Madrid are interested in taking him to Spain.
Full story: Sunday Telegraph

Aston Villa are lining up Mark Hughes as a replacement for manager Martin O'Neill should the Irishman walk out on the club in the summer.Back to Celtic Park maybe 
Full story: News of the World

Manchester United centre-back Nemanja Vidic is prepared to stay at the club if they increase his wages to in excess of £100,00 per week.
Full story: News of the World

Birmingham midfielder Craig Gardner has rejected claims his tackle on Arsenal skipper Cesc ­Fabregas contributed to the Spain midfielder breaking his leg four days later against Barcelona.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

Defender Joleon Lescott insists he has no regrets about leaving Everton and wants to end his career with Manchester City.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

AND FINALLY

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney has already been doing some carefully monitored cardiovascular work at the club's Carrington training complex as he tries to recover from his ankle ligament injury.
Full story: Sunday Telegraph

Rooney may even have a chance of making a miraculous recovery in time to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday for the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

Manchester City are considering plans to expand their City of Manchester ground with one of the plans being to add another tier, taking the capacity to almost 80,000.
Full story: Sunday Mirror

 

Breaking transfer gossip will appear here throughout the day.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal are on the trail of £10m-rated Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega with Latics boss Roberto Martinez already lining up Espanyol forward Jose Callejon as a replacement.
Full story: The Sun

Juventus are lining up a £12m bid for Tottenham's Wales international full-back Gareth Bale in the summer.
Full story: caughtoffside.com 

AC Milan are set to beat Manchester United to the signing of France international forward Karim Benzema by offering Real Madrid a swap deal involving Brazilian striker Pato.
Full story: imscouting.com

Midfielder Boudewijn Zenden is not sure that he has done enough to earn a new Sunderland contract, despite his spectacular volleyed goal against Tottenham on Saturday.
Full story: Daily Star

Roberto Mancini is in negotiations with his former club Inter Milan to bring striker Mario Balotelli, who has fallen out with Jose Mourinho, to Manchester City.
Full story: caughtoffside.com

Martin O'Neill is planning to offer Tottenham £11m for striker Robbie Keane, who is currently on loan at the Aston Villa manager's former club Celtic.
Full story: caughtoffside.com

Arsenal are monitoring Paris St Germain midfielder Clement Chantome after the 22-year-old voiced his dissatisfaction with life at the Ligue 1 side. (Daily Mirror)

Major League Soccer chiefs are hoping to tempt a raft of French stars to bring their careers to a lucrative end in the United States' domestic league. Barcelona forward Thierry Henry, Villareal midfielder Robert Pires and Manchester City anchorman Patrick Vieira will all be approached.
Full story: imscouting.com

Celtic are on the trail of Southampton's £2m-rated England Under-21 midfielder Adam Lallana. (The Sun)My Uncle who is a Saints fan rates this lad highly 

Sunderland's on-loan Tottenham right-back, Alan Hutton, is being chased by Newcastle, who clinched promotion to England's top flight on Monday. (Daily Express)

Former Rangers player John Brown has urged defender Danny Wilson to resist a move to Liverpool or Tottenham to stay at Ibrox. (Daily Record)

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti says that midfielder Joe Cole will "definitely" sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge.
Full story: The Sun

Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan left out Gary O'Neil for Monday's night match against Plymouth with the midfielder one match away from triggering a £1m payment to former club Portsmouth.
Full story: Daily Star

Fabio Capello has been reassured that Manchester United will not play Wayne Rooney against Bayern Munich if there is any risk to his long-term fitness.
Full story: Daily Mail

Manager Arsene Wenger will include Sol Campbell in the heart of his Arsenal defence for their Champions League second-leg quarter-final match against Barcelona.
Full story: The Sun

Bayern Munich are set to welcome back winger Arjen Robben and defender Daniel van Buyten from injury for Wednesday's trip to Old Trafford.
Full story: The Sun

Liverpool are the underdogs in the race for fourth place in the Premier League and Champions League qualification, according to captain Steven Gerrard.No shit Sherlock
Full story: The Guardian

Vejle Boldklub left-back Euan Holden says he would consider a call to the Scotland squad despite older brother Stuart, of Bolton, having chosen to play for the USA. (Various)

AND FINALLY

Gianfranco Zola has invoked Bill Shankly's famous line about football being "more important than life or death" as he tries to inspire West Ham for their fight against the drop.
Full story: Daily Mail

Iran's girls' football team have been ejected from the Youth Olympic Games because Fifa rules prevent players wearing Islamic headscarves.
Full story: Herald Sun