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Page last updated at 21:46 GMT, Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Wednesday's gossip column

TransfersOther gossipAnd finallyNews image

BREAKING GOSSIP

Stiliyan Petrov could sign a contract extension at Aston Villa within the next fortnight. (Express and Star)

Inter Milan have denied receiving an offer from Tottenham for their Italy World Cup-winning defender Marco Materazzi. (PA Sport 1408 GMT)

Middlesbrough have agreed a �5m fee with Crystal Palace for midfielder Ben Watson. (Sky Sports News 1309 GMT)

Newcastle have rejected a �5m bid from Manchester City for keeper Shay Given. (Shields Gazette 1246 GMT)

Newcastle United are set to table a �15m bid for Atalanta striker Sergio Floccari. (Sportmediaset 1110 GMT)

Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt is a �10m target for Italian giants Juventus. (Corriere dello Sport 1106 GMT)

Manchester City are tracking Chelsea's 24-year-old Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic. (Goal.com 1046 GMT)

Manchester City are set to complete the �15m signing of Hamburg's Holland international Nigel de Jong. (MailOnline.co.uk 1042 GMT)

Portsmouth have declared their interest in former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira. (SkySports.com 0941 GMT)

Everton are considering a loan move for Portugal international striker Hugo Almeida. (Daily Post 0841 GMT)

Tottenham are lining up Inter Milan's Italian international Marco Materazzi. (SkySports.com 0827 GMT)

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City striker Robinho is desperate to leave the club with Chelsea waiting to rescue the Brazilian. (The Sun)

Chelsea winger Florent Malouda is being lined up by Spanish club Villarreal who are preparing a �9m bid. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham have clinched the signing of Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini for around �1m. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba says he wants to return to previous club Marseille. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea manager Phil Scolari has been told he can use the �12m gained from the sale of Wayne Bridge for January transfers. (Guardian)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and midfielder Cesc Fabregas are being lined up by Real Madrid. (Daily Star)

Manchester City have rejected an approach from Blackburn to use Daniel Sturridge as part of the deal to bring Roque Santa Cruz to Eastlands. (Daily Mail)

Aston Villa are also keen on young striker Sturridge. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham have stepped up their pursuit of Brescia striker Savio. (Daily Star)

Sunderland and Newcastle are leading the race to sign unsettled Bolton defender Danny Shittu. (The Sun)

Tottenham defender Gilberto is set to join Getafe. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough are tracking Hull striker Marlon King whose future at the club is in doubt after a row with Tigers boss Phil Brown. (Daily Mail)

Sheffield United are hoping to sign Manchester City striker Darius Vassell in a �1.6m deal. (Daily Express)

Arsenal's hopes of signing Zenit St Petersburg's Russian forward Andrei Arshavin appear to have collapsed. (The Times)

Manchester City could now join the race to sign Arshavin. (Telegraph)

Lyon are expected to complete the signing of West Ham winger Julien Faubert. (The Times)

Portsmouth are still hopeful of tempting Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen to join them on loan. (The Independent)

Chelsea have joined the race to sign Wigan winger Antonio Valencia. (The Independent)

West Ham have missed out on the signing of Fiorentina youngster Pablo Osvaldo. (The Independent)

Everton could turn to Racing Santander's Mohammed Tchite to solve their striking problems. (Telegraph)

Sevilla's �20m rated left-back Fernando Navarro is being tracked by Liverpool. (Telegraph)

Tottenham are keen on Inter Milan centre-back Nicolas Burdisso. (Daily Mirror)

Celtic have agreed a �1.2m fee for Manchester City's 20-year-old Welsh international striker Ched Evans. (Express)

Celtic have given the green light for defender Darren O'Dea to join Burnley on loan. (Daily Mail)

However, Wolves have joined the race to snap up O'Dea until the end of the season. (Daily Record)

Partick Thistle want to sign Hamilton Accies striker Lucas Akins on loan for the rest of the season. (Express)

Norwich are on the trail of Aberdeen's versatile defender Lee Mair. (Scottish Sun)

Hull boss Phil Brown may revive attempts to sign Bolton forward Kevin Davies. (Daily Mail)

OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Kaka says the prospect of joining Manchester City never crossed his mind. (Daily Mirror)

Robinho is facing a massive �320,000 fine for walking out on the club this week. (Daily Star)

Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant is being lined up to become the next coach of Bulgaria. (The Sun)

Southampton head coach Jan Poortvliet could become the latest managerial casualty after being summoned for crisis talks with chairman Rupert Lowe. (Daily Mail)

Argentine World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles has emerged as a shock front-runner for the vacant manager's job at Inverness. (Daily Mail & Scottish Sun)

Scotland manager George Burley won't stand in the way if his assistant Terry Butcher is the man wanted by Inverness. (Daily Record)

Terry Butcher has not contacted Inverness but refused to rule himself out of the running. (Express)

Sacked Inverness manager Craig Brewster reckons he can make a comeback as a player - at the age of 42. (Various)

In-form West Ham striker Carlton Cole looks set for a call-up into Fabio Capello's England squad. (The Times)

Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy has claimed former manager Paul Ince could have wrecked his chances of playing for South Africa at the 2010 World Cup. (The Sun)

AND FINALLY

Newcastle pair Charles N'Zogbia and Andy Carroll have been involved in a furious training-ground bust-up and had to be dragged apart. (Various)



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see also
Monday's gossip column
19 Jan 09 |  Gossip
Sunday's gossip column
18 Jan 09 |  Gossip
Saturday's gossip column
17 Jan 09 |  Gossip
Friday's gossip column
16 Jan 09 |  Gossip
Thursday's gossip column
15 Jan 09 |  Gossip
Transfers - January 2009
21 Jan 09 |  Football
SPL ins and outs
21 Jan 09 |  Scottish Premier
January football sales
02 Jan 09 |  Premier League


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