Wednesday's gossip column: 18th september, 2013
Liverpool and Galatasaray will move
for Anzhi Makhachkala's Ivory Coast striker Lacina Traore, 23, in January.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he was reluctant to
re-sign Mathieu Flamini, 29, after the way the midfielder left the club back in
2008.
Mathieu Flamini
made 102 league appearances, scoring seven goals in his first spell at Arsenal
Aston Villa will return with another
offer for Kuban Krasnodar's Bulgaria midfielder Ivelin Popov, 25, in the next
transfer window.
Birmingham want to sign Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard,
20, on loan.
Sevilla supporters have devised a plan
to try to make on-loan Chelsea midfielder Marko Marin, 24, stay in Spain
permanently.
Manchester City are believed to be keen on Udinese forward Piotr
Zielinski. Manuel Pellegrini is ramping up his scouting ahead of the January
transfer window and the 19-year-old has come to his attention.
Manchester United have written to fans
who have expressed concerns over new manager David Moyes and his transfer
policy.
New West Brom striker Stephane Sessegnon is set to make his
Baggies debut against former club Sunderland on Saturday once he receives a
work permit. Black Cats manager Paolo Di Canio questioned the attitude of the
Benin international, 29, after allowing him to leave on deadline day.
Fabio Borini has
made just five league starts for Liverpool and is now on loan at Sunderland
Fabio Borini made a mistake when he
joined Liverpool from Roma last year, according to his agent. The Italy
striker, 22, has joined Sunderland on a season-long loan deal.
Striker Jermain Defoe, 30, has admitted that his chances of
going to next year's World Cup with England will be hampered if he continues to
be denied first-team football at Tottenham.
Tottenham's Andros Townsend, who was
named in the England squad for the recent World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and
Ukraine, has described his loan spell at QPR playing under Harry Redknapp last
season as "massive".
One Direction's management are putting pressure on 21-year-old
Louis Tomlinson to hang up his boots at Doncaster Rovers after discovering
their insurance premiums will rocket if he pursues his football career at the
club.
FC Groningen defender Timo Letschert
did not take his second dismissal in as many games too well, appearing to faint
on the pitch following the red card after just 10 minutes of his side's Dutch
league match with Heerenveen.
Tuesday's gossip column: 17th september, 2013
Arsenal could be
willing to pay £11m for Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos, 21.
Chelsea and Manchester United may be put on
alert after 25-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski's agent
claimed he has held talks with Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis about a
move to the Italian club.
Manchester City
could be ready to pounce if Manchester United fail to agree a new deal with
18-year-old Belgian winger Adnan Januzaj, whose contract expires at the end of
this season.
Januzaj
impressed after coming on as substitute in Man Utd's win over Crystal Palace
Mahamadou Diarra, 32, could earn a new
contract with Fulham after making his comeback from a long-term knee injury in
the development squad's win at Reading on Monday. The defensive midfielder's
contract ran out in the summer.
Stoke will offer
28-year-old striker Kenwyne Jones a new contract in a bid to prevent the
forward from leaving next summer on a free transfer.
Former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly
believes Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has flirted with a move to the
Blues this summer in order to get a new deal at the Old Trafford club.
Brighton are
targeting a loan move for Tottenham striker Jonathan Obika, 23, who is
currently recovering from an ankle injury.
West Ham striker
Andy Carroll, 24, hopes a trip to a specialist in Belgium will see him avoid
surgery on the heel injury that has prevented him from playing this season.
Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio has offered
encouragement to former captain Lee Cattermole that he can have a fresh start
at the club after the pair held talks. Di Canio had been unconvinced the
25-year-old midfielder - who is recovering from a knee injury - would fit in
under him.
Cattermole
has been sidelined for Sunderland since the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal in February
Everton midfielder
Steven Pienaar, 31, is to be ruled out for a month after suffering a hamstring
injury.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti is
considering starting £85.3m world record signing Gareth Bale, 24, on the bench
in the Spanish side's opening Champions League game of the season at
Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Chelsea striker
Fernando Torres, 29, says he welcomes the competition for places that fellow
forward Samuel Eto'o brings at the Stamford Bridge club and insists the pair
are friends.
Gareth Bale can 'play in many positions and not just as a striker', says Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of his team's game with Turkish club Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Barcelona defender Carles Puyol could be in the squad for the Champions League match against Ajax on Wednesday following knee surgery in June.
Manchester United
manager David Moyes has a 'longstanding interest' in Bayer Leverkusen striker
Stefan Kiessling.
Gareth Bale's
arrival forced Mesut Ozil's Real Madrid exit, and now the Welshman is
considering whether to buy the Arsenal playmaker's £1m property in the Spanish
capital.
