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Page last updated at 08:39 GMT, Thursday, 1 January 2009

Thursday's gossip column

TransfersOther gossipAnd finallyNews image

BREAKING GOSSIP

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho wants Newcastle striker Michael Owen and will offer the Magpies a straight swap for �12m-rated Brazil star Adriano or Honduras striker David Suazo plus �4.5m cash. (The Sun)

Owen will reject the chance to join Inter because he is not keen on another move abroad following his stint with Real Madrid. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa are all monitoring Owen's situation, despite his recent pledge to see out the final six months of his contract at St James' Park. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes will kick off the newly opened January transfer window by paying �15m each for Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz and Inter Milan frontman Adriano. (The Sun)

City are set to sign Arsenal defender Kolo Toure and Santa Cruz by the end of the week. (Daily Mirror)

606: DEBATE
Or, City's first bit of transfer business will be Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge arriving for �12m - and they are also keen on fellow Blues defender Alex. (Daily Mail)

Hughes hopes a bid of �10m will be enough to persuade West Ham to sell Wales striker Craig Bellamy and is set to slap in a �10m offer for Newcastle's Shay Given to test the Magpies' resolve not to sell the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper. (The Sun)

West Ham centre-back Matthew Upson and Everton defender Joleon Lescott have also emerged as targets for Hughes. (The Times)

Manchester City want to sell at least six players, with defender Tal Ben-Haim poised to return to his former club Bolton. (The Times)

Tottenham and Aston Villa are also interested in Craig Bellamy, who is valued at �20m by the Hammers, and he will hand in a transfer request if he is denied a move away from Upton Park. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham will also listen to offers for defender Lucas Neill, who is out of contract in the summer, and are willing to subsidise his wages at a new club. (Daily Mirror)

The Hammers have admitted that approaches for all their players during the January transfer window will be considered. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is desperate to offload Mexican forward Giovani Dos Santos and says the club's transfer policy was a shambles before he arrived. (Daily Mirror)

Mexican side Chivas could come in for Dos Santos, a �5m summer signing from Barcelona, while Redknapp also hopes to sell striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, defenders Ricardo Rocha and Gilberto, and midfielders Kevin Prince Boateng, Hossam Ghaly and Adel Taarabt in January. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham remain hopeful of signing Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe, despite having an initial bid rejected. (Various)

Spurs have turned down the chance to buy Adriano from Inter Milan and will go back to Pompey on Thursday with an improved �15m bid for Defoe. (The Independent)

With Manchester United yet to turn their loan deal for Carlos Tevez into a permanent switch, Real Madrid and Inter Milan could move for the Argentine striker in January. (The Sun)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba could decide to leave Stamford Bridge after being fined a week's wages - �100,000 - for publicly criticising the club over the way they treated him in 2008. (The Sun)

Everton and Aston Villa want to sign Inter Milan's Honduras striker David Suazo, who is out of favour at the San Siro and has been on loan at Benfica this season. (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid want to sign Wigan midfielder Luis Antonio Valencia on loan in January, with an option to buy him in the summer. The Latics, however, want �18m for the Ecuador star. (The Sun)

Wigan do not want to sell Valencia but will sell him for �15m. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has drawn up a list of potential striker signings, with Wigan's Emile Heskey and Portsmouth's Peter Crouch among his targets. (The Guardian)

Heskey, however, is likely to rejoin his former club Liverpool for �4m. (The Independent)

Everton are also chasing a striker, with Zenit St Petersburg forward Pavel Pogrebnyak the latest frontman to be linked with a move to Goodison Park. (The Independent)

Portsmouth defender Lauren has been told he can leave Fratton Park and is set to join Greek side AEK Athens. (Daily Mirror)

Pompey's Welsh full-back Richard Duffy is also set for a move away from the south-coast club. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle are set to bid �5m for Portsmouth midfielder Papa Bouba Diop and are also interested in Blackburn defender Christopher Samba. (Daily Mail)

Partizan Belgrade winger Zoran Tosic has pulled the plug on his move to Manchester United after failing to agree terms and Manchester City and Arsenal are poised to swoop for the 21-year-old instead. (Daily Express)

The breakdown in talks with Tosic could affect United's hopes of signing his Partizan team-mate, midfielder Adem Ljajic. (Daily Express)

Hull City boss Phil Brown is lining up a �2m raid for Wigan midfielder Michael Brown, and will also pay the Latics �3m to make Marlon King's loan into a permanent deal. (The Sun)

Turkish side Besiktas hope to capture Newcastle utility man Geremi in a cut-price �2m deal. (Daily Mirror)

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy says striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who is wanted by Everton, and winger Michael Kightly, a target of Newcastle, are not for sale. (The Sun)

West Brom have rejected a �3m offer from Bolton for Scotland midfielder James Morrison. (Daily Mirror)

Baggies boss Tony Mowbray has had a �2m bid for Paris St Germain forward Peguy Luyindula turned down. (Daily Mirror)

AC Milan are keen on Arsenal's want-away defender William Gallas and will let Philippe Senderos, who is on loan at the San Siro from the Gunners, return to the Emirates Stadium to speed up the deal. (The Sun)

AC Milan are willing to pay �6m for Gallas, who is also a target for Marseille. (Daily Express)

Wenger wants to buy a new centre-back before he allows Gallas to leave. The Arsenal boss is considering making bids for Fulham's Brede Hangeland and West Ham's Matthew Upson but is not interested in bringing Senderos back into the fold. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal have turned down a transfer request from defender Kolo Toure. (Daily Star)

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is set to cut his losses on �7m full-back Andrea Dossena and AC Milan hope to take him back to his native Italy. (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal will face competition from Italian giants Juventus for Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari will give Roma Florent Malouda plus �5m in a swap deal for their Brazilian winger Cicinho. (Daily Mirror)

Crystal Palace midfielder Ben Watson is set to join Middlesbrough for �1m if Boro midfielder Gary O'Neil joins his old club Portsmouth. (The Independent)

Middlesbrough are preparing a �2.5m bid for Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher. (Daily Record)

Former Dundee United goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski claims he has agreed to join Hibernian until the end of the season. (Daily Record)

Aberdeen boss Jimmy Calderwood says he will do everything he can to stop striker Lee Miller from leaving Pittodrie during the January transfer window. (Daily Record)

Wolves are set to beat Portsmouth to the �2m signing of Bristol City midfielder Marvin Elliott. (Daily Mirror)

Coventry City's Scottish striker Kevin Kyle, currently on loan with Hartlepool, is considering a move to join Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes in the United States. (Daily Star)

Hamilton boss Billy Reid hopes to seal a loan deal for Rangers defender Jordan McMillan in time for him to face Aberdeen on Saturday. (Daily Record)

Falkirk are keen to sign an experienced goalkeeper as back-up for Robert Olejnik. (Daily Record)

OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been offered �25m to take charge at Real Madrid in the summer and the Spanish side also want to sign Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas. (Daily Mirror)

If Wenger rejects the Real job they will turn to Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez as the man to replace Juande Ramos when his short-term deal at the Bernabeu ends. (Daily Express)

Newcastle United are struggling to field 11 fit players in Saturday's FA Cup third round tie with Hull and have called off training in a bid to avoid any further injuries. (Daily Star)

Aston Villa striker John Carew could be sidelined for another two months with the back problem that has kept him out of action since the end of November. (The Guardian)

Former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd is in talks with Spanish side Real Mallorca over a possible takeover. (The Independent)

Ex-Scotland defender Colin Cameron could make his debut for Dundee in the next few weeks after returning to training. The 35-year-old has been out with a knee injury since moving to Dens Park in the summer. (Daily Record)

Droylsden chairman Dave Pace may walk away from the Blue Square North club after their expulsion from the FA Cup over fielding an ineligible player. (Daily Star)

AND FINALLY

Macclesfield have asked for help from their fans to lay covers on the pitch at Moss Rose to save the Silkmen's FA Cup third round tie with Everton on Saturday from postponement because of the cold weather. (The Times)



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see also
Wednesday's gossip column
31 Dec 08 |  Gossip
Tuesday's gossip column
30 Dec 08 |  Gossip
Transfers - January 2009
01 Jan 09 |  Football
January football sales
30 Dec 08 |  Premier League


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