Charlton fear that Alan Curbishley will try and snatch striker Darren Bent from them when he takes over West Ham. (The Sun)

Spurs boss Martin Jol has tied up his first deal for January's transfer window after agreeing a �2.5m deal for Lens midfielder Adel Taarabt. (Daily Mirror)

Fulham boss Chris Coleman wants to speak to Celtic contract rebel Shaun Maloney when the transfer window opens. (Daily Mirror)

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has ruled out any possibility of Andriy Shevchenko returning to the San Siro. (Daily Mirror)

Rangers have launched a bid to land �250,000-rated Romanian youth international Marius Alexe from Dinamo Bucharest. (Scottish Daily Express)

Newcastle United have emerged as contenders to fight it out with Celtic and Southampton to sign former Hearts captain Steven Pressley. (Scottish Sun)

West Ham offered Alan Curbishley their managerial job on Tuesday night, with the former Charlton boss only needing to sign a �2.5m-a-year deal. (The Sun)

Curbishley could even be unveiled by the Hammers on Wednesday. (Various)

Key to Curbishley taking over is his desire for a two-and-a-half year deal and the freedom to bring in his own backroom staff. (The Times)

Curbishley could be given up to �25m to spend in the January transfer window. (Daily Telegraph)

Alan Pardew was sacked because relegation would spell doom for West Ham. (Daily Express)

Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson gave Curbishley a ringing endorsement when consulted by West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson. (Daily Mirror)

England are set to call up Joey Barton for the friendly with Spain in February, despite the Manchester City midfielder's criticism of the national side's performance at the World Cup. (Various)

England coach Steve McClaren is set to give Celtic star Lee Naylor the chance to prove he can cut it at international level. (Daily Record)

The Quest team will be granted a second extension to complete its bungs inquiry after Lord Stevens told the Premier League board there was a suspicion of wrongdoing in a number of transfer deals. (The Guardian)

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is set to drop misfiring �31m striker Andriy Shevchenko. (The Independent)

Former Rangers striker Shota Arveladze believes Barry Ferguson made a mistake in coming back to Rangers too soon from Blackburn Rovers. (Scottish Sun)

Sheffield FC's claim to be the oldest football club in the world is under threat from Cambridge University FC, who held a lunch to celebrate their 150th anniversary at the weekend. Sheffield's 150th anniversary is next year. (The Guardian)

Wayne Rooney escaped injury when Boston Celtics' 6ft 8in star Paul Pierce landed on his famous right foot while the Manchester United star was courtside for a New York Knicks basketball game. (The Sun)