Transfers Speculations (February):

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Saturday 02nd February gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS

The Premier League will meet next week to decide whether Benjani's transfer from Portsmouth to Manchester City can go ahead. (Various)

Javier Mascherano is expected to make his loan move permanent by signing for Liverpool next week in a £17.1m deal. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City defender Micah Richards says he is ready to sign a contract extension with the club to end rumours of a move away from Eastlands. (Various)

Middlesbrough may have to pay a further £2m for striker Afonso Alves because of a legal challenge from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. (Mail)

Bolton manager Gary Megson has opened talks with Liverpool in a bid to seal a permanent £2m deal for on-loan midfielder Danny Guthrie at the end of the season. (Daily Star)

Fulham hope Daniel Cousin may still join from Rangers before the end of the season as a Fifa meeting will review player status after the Africa Cup of Nations. (Daily Mirror)


OTHER GOSSIP
Fabio Capello is to name Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard as his captain for the friendly against Switzerland, but the role of permanent skipper is still up for grabs. (Various)

Chelsea defender John Terry has been banned from attending the national team's kit launch next week because Capello does not want injured players on show. (Various)

Former Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni will next week be named Republic of Ireland manager. (The Sun)

New Scotland coach George Burley does not want to play the planned friendly against England at Wembley on 28 May as he believes many of his players will be unavailable because of club commitments. (The Daily Telegraph)

Stoke City's Tony Pulis and former Burnley boss Steve Cotterill have been short-listed to replace Burley as Southampton manager. (Telegraph)

Premier League clubs spent a record £150m in January, surpassing the total of all top divisions in France, Germany, Italy and Spain (Times)


AND FINALLY
West Ham manager Alan Curbishley says goalkeeper Robert Green should dye his hair "or do something else silly" to gain a place in the England squad. (Various)

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Tuesday 05th February gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Manchester City aim to reduce the original fee for Portsmouth striker Benjani but the on-off deal appears to be going ahead on Tuesday. (Various)

Birmingham will open contract talks with midfielder Mehdi Nafti when the Tunisia international returns from the Africa Cup of Nations. (Daily Star)

Chelsea are interested in signing IK Start's Ghana international midfielder Anthony Annan. (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool are set to permanently sign Javier Mascherano. (Various)

Former Lens coach Guy Roux says Daniel Cousin cannot be transferred from Rangers to Fulham because the striker played twice for the French club earlier this season. (Various)

Falkirk striker Pedro Moutinho's £200,000 move to Kayserispor has collapsed ahead of the closure of the Turkish transfer window tonight. (Daily Record)

Crystal Palace have postponed contract talks with Julian Speroni after the Argentine goalkeeper demanded vastly improved terms. (Daily Star)

Sheffield Wednesday will sign on-loan Sunderland midfielder Graham Kavanagh permanently in the summer. (Daily Star)

Nottingham Forest want Watford striker Will Hoskins on loan. (Daily Star)

Craig Armstrong is to rejoin Cheltenham on a free transfer after only five months at Gillingham. (Daily Star)

Kevin Phillips is set to agree a new deal with West Brom. (Various)

Out-of-favour Derby midfielder Bob Malcolm could join MLS outfit Dallas FC. (The Sun)


OTHER GOSSIP
New England boss Fabio Capello's first words to his assembled squad were: "I hate losing". The Italian addressed his player by their last names and laid down a number of rules, including banning WAGs. (Daily Star)

Republic of Ireland will offer Giovanni Trapattoni the manager's job with a £1m bonus if he takes them to the World Cup in South Africa. (Daily Mail)

Celtic midfielder Scott Brown will be suspended for the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Aberdeen after being booked against Kilmarnock at the weekend. (Daily Express)


AND FINALLY
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has celebrated becoming the Premier League's highest-paid player by splashing out £4m on a new home. The five bedroom mansion boasts an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, gym, cinema room and media suite. (The Sun)

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Wednesday 06th February gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Arsenal winger Alex Hleb will stay with the Gunners despite a planned summer raid by Barcelona. (The Sun)

Tottenham and Arsenal will fight it out to land Newcastle winger Charles N'Zogbia in the summer. (Daily Mail)

Middlesbrough are set to double defender David Wheater's wages to fend off interest from Liverpool. (The Sun)

Boro expect Wheater to sign a new long-term deal in the next two weeks. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has been spotted house hunting in Barcelona while he recovers from a thigh injury. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has pledged his future to the club despite interest from Real Madrid and AC Milan. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United have been sounding out clubs interested in signing striker Louis Saha. (Daily Mail)

Ipswich hope to sign out-of-favour Portsmouth striker David Nugent on loan. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham will go to court to fight a legal challenge from Kia Joorabchian over fees relating to Carlos Tevez's spell at Upton Park. (Telegraph)

Rangers captain Barry Ferguson will spend the rest of his career at Ibrox with the club set to offer him a contract extension. (The Sun)

Dunfermline have taken St Mirren forward Alex Burke on loan until the end of the season. (Daily Mirror)

Giovanni Trapattoni is the preferred choice to be the new Republic of Ireland boss, ahead of Terry Venables and Billy Davies. (Independent)

Coventry City want to re-sign striker Gary McSheffrey on loan from Birmingham. (Daily Star)

Leeds striker Tresor Kandol wants to quit Elland Road after a bust-up with new boss Gary McAllister. (The Sun)

Former Scotland striker Gary McSwegan, 37, is training with Clyde. (Daily Record)


OTHER GOSSIP
England boss Fabio Capello could pick Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole up front against Switzerland and leave Michael Owen on the bench. (Various)

Owen was a spectator in training on Tuesday as Capello experimented with new formations. (Various)

Matthew Upson, Wes Brown, David Bentley and Ashley Young are all set to start against the Swiss at Wembley. (Various)

Motherwell will pay £40,000 to replace part of their rain-sodden Fir Park pitch - and the new surface will only last six weeks. (Daily Record)

Shaun Maloney fears for his place in the Scotland squad if he does not secure more first-team football with Aston Villa. (Various)

Barry Ferguson is desperate to seize what he sees as his last chance of playing at World Cup finals for Scotland. (Various)

Maciej Zurawski says leaving Celtic for Larissa will revive his hopes of playing for Poland at the Euro 2008 finals. (Daily Mail)

Former Scotland international Andy Goram is poised to become goalkeeping coach with Clyde. (Various)


AND FINALLY
Fabio Capello banned England players from playing golf before the friendly with Switzerland but says they can play as much as they like on Thursday. (Various)

Benjani's move from Portsmouth to Manchester City was held up on transfer deadline day because the Zimbabwe striker fell asleep at the airport and missed two planes. (The Times)

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Latest transfers speculations Saturday 09.02.08

All the latest football gossip

Saturday's gossip column

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard will launch a £20m summer bid for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Gilberto Silva's future at Arsenal looks in doubt after he admitted he feels like a spare part under Arsene Wenger.

Chelsea are planning a renewed effort to sign Croatia midfielder Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer.

Leeds boss Gary McAllister wants midfielder Alan Thompson back from his loan deal at Hartlepool.

Portsmouth have rejected a loan bid for £6m striker David Nugent from his former club Preston.

Everton striker Yakubu's future at Goodison hangs in the balance after he failed to report back on time from Africa Cup of Nations duty and was axed from the squad to face Reading.

Hull striker Michael Bridges has rejected a loan move to Crewe to fight for his place.

West Brom striker Zoltan Gera is set to snub a new deal at West Brom if the Baggies fail to win promotion to the Premier League.

Other gossip other than transfer news..............

Bolton Boss Gary Megson has revealed that Jermain Defoe turned down the chance to replace Nicolas Anelka at the Reebok.

Coach Nigel Pearson has left Newcastle, according to reports. The 44-year-old took over as caretaker boss after Sam Allardyce's departure last month.

England boss Fabio Capello's top-of-the-range hair dryer was stolen from his private changing room at Wembley on Wednesday.

Tom Huddlestone has revealed that Tottenham boss Juande Ramos ordered him to ditch tomato ketchup, among other things, in a bid to get his weight down.

Tottenham's desperate bid for european football next season has driven the club to apply to enter the Intertoto Cup.

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Latest transfers speculations Wednesday 13.02.08

All the latest football gossip

Wednesday's gossip column

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba wants to join Barcelona - and could be set to move for £25m in the summer.

And Blues defender Wayne Bridge has threatened to leave if he is overlooked for the Carling Cup final.

Frank Lampard is the third Chelsea player who could head for the exit as speculation mounts that Juventus are set to make a bid for him.

Derby striker Kenny Miller has refused to rule out a return to Rangers after being linked to the club.

Aston Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen could join Barnsley on an emergency loan deal for their FA Cup tie at Liverpool on Saturday.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan admits he is a facing a battle to keep Charles N'Zogbia at the club.

Manchester City defender Richard Dunne is considering buying out the last 12 months of his contract so he can leave the club this summer.

Fulham are set to move for Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia.

Crewe have pulled out of a loan deal for ex-winger Steve Jones after he suffered a knee injury.

West Brom are interested in signing Aston Villa's Luke Moore on a loan deal.

Leeds manager Gary McAllister is planning a double swoop for Doncaster's Adam Lockwood and Jason Price.

Rotherham and Hereford are battling it out to capture Bury striker Glynn Hurst on loan for the remainder of the season.

Other gossip other than transfer news..............

Opposition to the Premier League's proposals to play a round of matches abroad is growing among supporters who have set up seven groups on Facebook, under the banner of 'No to Game 39'.

However, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is planning to embark on a global tour to promote the idea, beginning with a meeting in Zurich with Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

But Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists no-one in England is in favour of the Premier League's plans.

And former England manager Graham Taylor has urged the Football Association to stand up to the Premier League. He says the governing body "should act like one".

Elsewhere, Dutch legend Johan Cruyff has added his voice to those who believe the 39th game is not a good idea - he has called it "absurd".

Trevor Brooking says the FA is on course complete the new National Football Centre in Burton by 2010.

Former Arsenal star Liam Brady is expected to play a key role in the Republic of Ireland managerial hierarchy after Giovanni Trapattoni is appointed on Wednesday.

Bolton midfielder Ivan Campo has opened talks about extending his deal at the club beyond the end of this season.

Steve McManaman has insisted he is not interested in becoming a director at Birmingham, despite 29.9% shareholder Carson Yeung's desire for the former Liverpool player to join the board.

Reading manager Steve Coppell has been assured his job is safe even if the club are relegated from the Premier League.

Sheffield Wednesday are on the verge of being taken over by a consortium from China for £40m.
Southampton are ready to appoint Iain Dowie as manager after his sacking as Coventry boss.

MK Dons manager Paul Ince has emerged as a target for Italian Serie A side Palermo.

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor says team-mate Cesc Fabregas is the worst dancer he has ever seen. After Gunners players were left in hysterics watching the Spaniard's best moves, Adebayor said: "We have to give him lessons - he really needs help."

Sunderland have been spending their week off enjoying some team-bonding exercises. Sent to the Lake District, the players have been clay pigeon shooting, quad-biking, orienteering and sheep-penning.

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Latest transfers speculations Thursday 14.02.08

All the latest football gossip

Thursday's gossip column

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o says he would welcome Chelsea striker Didier Drogba moving to the Spanish outfit.

Portsmouth striker Kanu is weighing up a move to Australian club Gold Coast Galaxy, who have close links with David Beckham's LA Galaxy outfit.

Liverpool could sell keeper Nikolay Mihaylov - bought for £225,000 - to FC Twente as the Dutch club, who have him on loan, want to sign him for £4m.

Dwight Yorke says he is playing for his Sunderland future as his deal at the club runs out in the summer.
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill will be handed the cash to help the club break the Premier League's top four monopoly.

Under-pressure Sheffield United boss Bryan Robson will get £2m to sign Lee Martin from Manchester United.

Lilian Thuram could leave Barcelona in the summer and join Arsenal in a player-coach capacity.

Other gossip other than transfer news..............

Sir Rod Eddington is apparently the man who came up with the '39th game' idea and now even he thinks it will not happen.

Manchester United's Ryan Giggs says the team are prepared to win ugly to catch Arsenal and claim the Premier League title.

Leicester chairman Milan Mandaric is ready to replace manager Ian Holloway with sacked Coventry boss Iain Dowie if results do not improve.

But it could be Billy Davies, who was sacked by Derby earlier on this season, coming in for Holloway as the new Foxes boss.

Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are set to sell the club to Dubai International Capital for £460m.

Managerless Coventry have asked Wigan if they can speak to their assistant manager Erik Black about taking over at the Ricoh Arena.

Tottenham's players still have to lose about half of the 16-stone target set by fitness coach Marcos Alvarez, who has stopped them eating cakes, chocolate muffins and sweets.

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Latest transfers speculations Sunday 17.02.08

All the latest football gossip

Sunday's gossip column

Tottenham want David James to replace out of form Paul Robinson.

Juventus are set to launch a summer raid for Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy.

Liverpool are keen on £20m-rated Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra.

Tottenham expect to sign Espanyol defender Dani Jarque in the summer.

AC Milan are interested in bringing Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko back to Italy.

Barcelona will swoop for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso in the summer.

Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is eyeing up Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady.

Lyon striker Karim Benzema says he will snub a move to Manchester United.

Welshman Freddie Eastwood will be offered the chance to re-build his career at Crystal Palace after finding first-team chances limited at Wolves.
Seville defender Daniel Alves says he has not given up hope of a move away from the club.

Manchester United defender Wes Brown could be on his way out of Old Trafford unless he lowers his wage demands.

Hibernian's Steven Fletcher could become a Real Madrid player this summer if he continues to impress the Spanish giants.

Other gossip other than transfer news..............

Alan Shearer is being lined up to front a £250m takeover bid for Newcastle.

Premier League boss Richard Scudamore's job could be on the line if he continues to push the controversial plan for a 39th game.

Graham Poll claims he was pressured by refs' supremo Keith Hackett to ensure a game between Arsenal and Manchester United passed without controversy.

Barnsley's most famous fan - former cricket umpire Dickie Bird - has called Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup victory over Liverpool "the best day of his life."

Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul could face the wrath of fitness-mad boss Juande Ramos after being pictured tucking into a well-known brand of high-street hamburger.

Bristol City's Brazilian keeper Adriano Basso has thrown his hat in the ring to be England's number one, insisting he's lived in the country long enough to qualify.