1135 GMT: Stoke City have agreed to pay £5.9m for Hoffenheim's Senegalese striker Demba Ba, according to German magazine Kicker.
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema is willing to join Aston Villa on loan if the Spanish giants sign Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor. Full story: Mirror
Liverpool are considering a summer move for Inter Milan striker Victor Obinna, who is currently on loan at West Ham. The defending Italian champions want £8m for the Nigeria international. Full story: Talksport.co.uk
Ajax's Luis Suarez is also a target for Liverpool who would like him as a strike partner for Fernando Torres. It may take £18m to bring him to the Premier League. Full story: the Sun
The Reds may also try and tempt left-back Urby Emanuelson to follow Suarez to Anfield from Ajax while Lille pair Gervinho (forward) and Eden Hazard (midfielder) are also on manager Kenny Dalglish's list of targets. Full story: Daily Telegraph
Defender Daniel Agger may be one player on his way out of Liverpool, however, with Fiorentina and Malaga both interested in a £3m deal. Full story: the Sun
Manchester United and Tottenham are monitoring the progress of Serbia international Radoslav Petrovic. The defensive midfielder is currently a key figure at Partizan Belgrade. Full story: IM Scouting
The agent of Borussia Dortmund's Neven Subotic has told Arsenal they would be wasting their time pursuing the Serbia international defender. Full story: Talksport.co.uk
But the Gunners look set to beat Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United to the signature of Southampton's highly rated teenage midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for £5m. Full story: Daily Mail
Stoke are poised to swoop for Hoffenheim midfielder Demba Ba after the Senegal international failed to agree personal terms with West Ham. The Potters have made his German club a £5.9m offer. Full story: the Sun
Blackburn have won the race for Birmingham winger Sebastian Larsson but will wait until the summer before completing the deal. Full story: Daily Mirror
Fulham boss Mark Hughes has turned his attention to Tottenham striker Robbie Keane following Roque Santa Cruz's preference to return to Blackburn. Republic of Ireland international Keane is also wanted by Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Full story: Metro
Hughes has said he would not be in a position to bring Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor to Craven Cottage. However, he could still move for winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. Full story: Mirror
Liverpool interim boss Kenny Dalglish is also keen on bringing England international Wright-Phillips to Anfield. Full story: Metro
Chelsea are close to a £21m deal for Benfica centre-back David Luiz, with right-back Paulo Ferreira moving in the opposite direction. The Premier League champions are also keen on £18m Ajax right-back Gregory van der Wiel. Full story: Mirror
There may be more changes in Chelsea's defence with right-back Jose Bosingwa put up for sale and Atletico Madrid's £15m-rated centre-half Diego Godin in the west London side's sights. Full story: Daily Telegraph
The Blues have also entered the race for Everton's Steven Pienaar, whose contract expires at the end of the season. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has lodged a £3m bid for the South Africa midfielder. Full story: the Sun
Newcastle are to resume talks with Cardiff over a possible deal for striker Jay Bothroyd. The 28-year-old's contract with the Bluebirds is up at the end of the season. Full story: the Times (requires subscription)
The Magpies are also tracking Wolfsburg midfielder Karim Ziani, but a move may be wrecked by a training ground bust-up Ziani had with recent Newcastle recruit Hatem Ben Arfa when the pair were Marseille team-mates. Full story: Daily Mail
West Ham are hopeful of landing unsettled Tottenham striker Robbie Keane for a little over £4m, while Boca Juniors winger Pablo Mouche is also a target. (Daily Mail)
Fulham striker Diomansy Kamara has emerged as a target for Italian side Sampdoria. Full story: Inside Futbol
Everton are set to sign Burnley winger Chris Eagles in a £1.5m deal. Full story: the Sun
West Brom face competition from Italian club Palermo for Sporting Lisbon defender Nuno Coelho. Full story: Talksport.co.uk
Bayern Munich's Mark van Bommel is being pursued by Tottenham and Aston Villa. The Netherlands international midfielder is out of contract in the summer, but Bayern are keen to cash in on the 33-year-old before he is released for nothing. Full story: Metro
Celtic have pulled out of a £2m deal for Brann Bergen striker Erik Huseklepp after the Norwegian club asked for more money for the 26-year-old. Full story: Daily Record
OTHER GOSSIP
Norwich boss Paul Lambert is under consideration to take over at West Ham should the Hammers' board decide to offload current manager Avram Grant. Full story: the Sun
Burnley are still trying to prise manager Eddie Howe from Bournemouth and have raised their pay offer to £500,000. (Mirror)
Tottenham forward Rafael van der Vaart insists his team can beat Manchester United on Sunday and are ready to win the Premier League title this season. Full story: Mirror
The Netherlands international says Tottenham do not need to sign anyone in the January transfer window to maintain their title challenge. Full story: Goal.com
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has given his strongest backing so far to goal-line technology. "If it works we will do it," he told CNN. Full story: CNN.com
But Blatter's suggestion that the 2022 World Cup may be moved to winter has been rejected by host nation Qatar. "It is never in our interest to change one week beyond June and July," said Mohamed Bin Hammam, leader of the country's successful bid. Full story: the Times (requires subscription)
West Brom's Paul Scharner has accused his team-mates of being "lazy" and has questioned their desire to stay in the Premier League. Full story: Daily Mail
Blackburn midfielder El-Hadji Diouf, who was accused of abusing injured QPR forward Jamie Mackie after he broke his leg in the teams' FA Cup meeting, has hit back at Hoops boss Neil Warnock. "Who is Warnock? He is nothing to me," said the Senegal international. Full story: the Sun
Tottenham coach Les Ferdinand has warned that midfielder David Beckham's arrival on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy could damage spirit within Spurs' squad. "There is going to be mixed reception from the players. Some of them will look and say, 'What is this guy actually going to bring us?'" Full story: Daily Star
AND FINALLY
Liverpool's shock 2-1 Premier League defeat by Blackpool was further compounded when the players were forced to endure cold showers because the Bloomfield Road boiler had broken down. Full story: Mirror
Wane Rooney's brother, John, has been signed up by Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. The 20-year-old forward, who made 46 appearances for Macclesfield, could line up alongside former Arsenal attacker Thierry Henry. (Daily Telegraph)
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes training ground bust-ups between team-mates are far from unique to the Eastlands club and has revealed that he and former Nottingham Forest and England star Trevor Francis clashed during their time at Sampdoria together. Full story: the Sun
Tottenham could be forced to change the club's name should they make the move to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London. Local MP David Lammy is seeking legal advice over whether retaining the name while moving out of the borough would represent a breach of intellectual property rights. Full story: the Guardian
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