August Football gossip 2007

[McFLY]

Saturday 25th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester United are willing to wait in order to complete the signing of Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov. (The Times)

Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson has been told that he can leave the club following the signing of Juliano Belletti. (The Sun, Daily Mirror)

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has closed his cheque book after signing Barcelona full-back Juliano Belletti. (Daily Star)

Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe could be on his way out of White Hart Lane as he refuses to sign a new contract while manager Martin Jol is in charge. (Daily Mail)

Middlesbrough striker Jason Euell is set for a move to Sheffield Wednesday for around £200,000. (Daily Mirror)

Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones, who is refusing to play for the club after handing in a transfer request, is expected to join Sunderland next week. (Daily Mail)

Fulham are increasing their efforts to sign Watford's Darius Henderson following the sickening injury to striker Brian McBride last weekend. (Daily Express)

Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen has promised Aston Villa that he will stay until January at least and fight for his place with new signing Scott Carson. (Daily Mirror)

West Brom boss Tony Mowbray has all but given up hope of signing Hearts striker Roman Bednar on loan. (Daily Record)


OTHER GOSSIP
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is considering selling his stake in the club to launch a bid for Tottenham. (Daily Express)

Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann stormed out of the club's training ground and travelled to Germany on Thursday after being told he was not going to play against Manchester City. (Daily Star)

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger reckons England will be the best team in the world - but not until 2018. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham boss Martin Jol said he could have left them for a Champions League club. (Various)

Rangers manager Walter Smith has called in the police to sort out abusive supporters. (Daily Record)


AND FINALLY
Sunderland manager Roy Keane has urged his players to "go easy on referees" ahead of the home game with Liverpool. "That might sound harsh coming from me and I certainly know that I made mistakes," he added. (Various)

Keane predicted that the story would be accompanied by a photo of his infamous rant at referee Andy D'Urso during his Manchester United days. The papers duly obliged.

Keane has also banned his players from swapping shirts with their opposition. (Various)

 

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Sunday 26th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Arsenal have made a £9m bid for Newcastle's Nigerian striker Obefami Martins. (News of the World)

Leicester have launched a £1.5m bid to sign unsettled Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy. (Sunday Mirror)

Liverpool have targeted Gremio midfielder Carlos Eduardo, dubbed 'the new Ronaldhino'. (News of the World)

Cardiff and Sheffield United are set to make a shock bid for Oldham striker Craig Davies, who only joined the club in the summer. (News of the World)

West Ham are set to sign Blackburn midfielder Tugay. (Sunday Mirror)

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko is wanted by Major League Soccer chiefs in America. (Sunday Mirror)

Birmingham are poised to sign Senegal star Amdy Faye from Charlton. (News of the World)

Tottenham want Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pedersen. (News of the World)

Newcastle are set to land Atletico Madrid's Peter Luccin in the next 48 hours. (News of the World)

Birmingham are also closing in on midfielder Luccin. (Sunday Mirror)

Middlesbrough could offload midfielder Jason Euell to Premiership rivals Sunderland. (Sunday Mirror)

Preston want to sign Coventry marksman Dele Adebola. (News of the World)

Watford have targeted West Brom forward Nathan Ellington to replace Darius Henderson. (Sunday Mirror)

Bristol City have made an inquiry about unsettled Millwall striker Darren Byfield. (News of the World)

Birmingham are interested in signing Marseille's star midfielder M'Bami. (The People)

Sunderland are ready to swap striker Stern John in a deal to bring Kenwyne Jones from Southampton. (The People)

Fulham are lining up a bid for Monaco's Czech striker Jan Koller. (The People)

Bolton's 29-year-old Senegalese defender Abdoulaye Faye claims Newcastle have offered him a £40,000-a-week contract. (The People)

Crystal Palace boss Peter Taylor wants to snap up out-of-favour Leicester striker Matty Fryatt. (The People)

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is ready to revive their interest in Fenerbahce's Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Appiah. (The People)

Arsenal are trailing Ajax left-back Urby Emanuelson. (The People)

Rangers are tracking West Ham's George McCartney as they step their hunt for a left-back. (Mail on Sunday).

Stoke City have enquired about taking Celtic striker Derek Riordan on loan. (Sunday Mail)

Motherwell aim to sign Morton midfielder Jim McAlister in a cash-plus-player deal. (News of the World)


OTHER GOSSIP
Former Tottenham striker Jurgen Klinsmann is to lead an American bid to buy the club. (The People)

Micah Richards is set to sign a new four-year deal at Man City that will eventually send his wages soaring to £50,000 a week. (News of the World)

Carlisle are considering moving for ex-Newcastle player Lee Clark to take over at Brunton Park. (Sunday Express)

David Beckham's team LA Galaxy want German legend Jurgen Klinsmann as their new manager. (News of the World)

Leicester will axe manager Martin Allen this week. (News of the World)

Boss Simon Grayson could quit Blackpool as the Championship side stall over a new contract. (News of the World)

Leicester owner Milan Mandaric wants ex-Wigan boss Paul Jewell to replace Allen if he is sacked. (The People)


AND FINALLY
Manchester United are enlisting the help of scientists and Nike to manufacture a special protective boot for Wayne Rooney. (Sunday Times)

 

[McFLY]

Monday 27th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will break the bank to sign Barcelona's Brazilian forward Ronaldinho after having two meetings with his brother and agent. (Daily Mail)

Watford are poised to make a £3.5m move for West Brom striker Nathan Ellington. (Daily Mirror)

Everton have been stunned by Manuel Fernandes' decision to join Valencia - just 24 hours after he was a guest at their game with Blackburn. (Various)

Aston Villa have offered £7m for Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker. (The Times)

Newcastle have agreed a £2m-plus deal to sign Abdoulaye Faye from Bolton - and will pay him £40,000-a-week. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland boss Roy Keane will sign Stoke's Danny Higginbotham and Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones, while also offering a contract to Ian Harte. (Daily Star)

Portsmouth are set to sign Bolton's Nicolas Anelka for £9m and Fulham's Papa Bouba Diop for £3m. (Daily Mirror)

Harry Redknapp will try to sell striker David Nugent to Derby or Middlesbrough to fund his new signings. (Daily Mirror)

Ipswich's George O'Callaghan is joining Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday. (The Sun)

Ajax are to sign Newcastle's Spanish striker Albert Luque. (The Times)

MK Dons boss Paul Ince is flying in prolific French striker Mikel Antoine Courier for talks. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham are mulling over a fresh £8m offer for Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy. (Daily Mail)

Aston Villa are tracking Chelsea defender Glen Johnson. (Daily Mirror)

Fulham have bid £1.3m for Derby County striker Steve Howard. (The Sun)

Clubs including Everton, Fulham, Man City and Derby are scrambling to sign Celtic striker Kenny Miller. (Daily Mirror)

Sheffield United boss Bryan Robson has ruled out selling striker Rob Hulse. (Daily Mail)

Fulham have had a £250,000 bid for Port Vale keeper Joe Anyon, 20, rejected. (Daily Mirror)

St Johnstone boss Owen Coyle is on the verge of concluding a move to bring back former Dundee United midfielder Karim Kerkar to Scotland. (Daily Record)


OTHER GOSSIP
LA Galaxy are lining up Jurgen Klinsmann as their new coach as Frank Yallop cannot handle the pressure of coaching David Beckham. (Various)

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez admits he may have to make an emergency signing after being hit by a series of injuries to defenders. (Various)

Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones has been told to return to training after going on strike. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate hit out at Newcastle fans for their sick taunts to Egyptian striker Mido. (Daily Mirror)

Peter Schmeichel has revealed his son Kasper, of Manchester City, will play for Denmark and not England. (The Times)

Ashley Cole has described England fans who jeered Frank Lampard before kick-off at Wembley last week as "disgraceful". (The Times)

Craig Brewster will be paraded as the new Inverness manager for the second time on Monday. (Daily Record)


AND FINALLY
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has got rid of his private bowling alley - because his kids were too noisy celebrating strikes. (The Sun)

 

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Tuesday 28th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Barcelona have insisted they do not want to sell Ronaldinho as the prospect him joining Chelsea fades away. (Times)

But Chelsea will offer £50m to clinch a deal for the Brazilian when officials of both clubs meet at Thursday's draw for the Champions League group stages. (Mirror)

A pay rise has kept striker Dimitar Berbatov happy at Spurs for the moment with Manchester United lurking. (Various)

Bolton are trying to use the same tactic to keep forward Nicolas Anelka at the Reebok as Manchester United, West Ham and Portsmouth chasing him. (The Sun)

Everton want midfielder Kevin Nolan from Bolton after missing out on Manuel Fernandes, although Middlesbrough are also interested in the midfielder.

West Ham have stepped up their bid for Reading left-back Nicky Shorey by bidding £5m for his services. (The Sun)

Aston Villa are set to seal a deal for Fulham central defender Zat Knight after refusing to pay £10m for West Brom's Curtis Davies. (The Sun)

But Villa will splash out £20m to land Spurs striker Jermain Defoe and Davies. (Daily Star)

Inter Milan forward Adriano has rejected a loan move to Manchester City, who will have to fork out £10m to sign him permanently. (Mirror)

Real Sociedad boss Chris Coleman is lining up a bid for Liverpool winger Harry Kewell. (Mirror)

Fulham want to give Stuttgart striker Daniel Luboja a trial. (Daily Mail)


OTHER GOSSIP
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says he has no problem if midfielder Steven Gerrard plays for England in the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers - as long as the doctors say he is fit. (Various)

Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann has had showdown talks with boss Arsene Wenger after he did not play against Manchester City. (Daily Star)


AND FINALLY
Chelsea star Ashley Cole bought his wife Cheryl a £150,000 Bentley but she turned it down because she felt she didn't earn it. (Various)

 

[McFLY]

Wednesday 29th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Chelsea and Tottenham are negotiating a swap deal involving Jermain Defoe and Shaun Wright-Phillips. (The Sun)

West Ham will have to up their bid to £6m if they want to land Reading left-back Nicky Shorey. (The Sun)

Manchester City and West Ham will have to splash out £12m to sign Adriano from inter Milan with the player not keen on a loan move. (Various)

The Brazilian striker was offered to Arsenal but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said he did not need the forward. (Various)

Manchester United are planning a £22m bid for Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov but Spurs will want £40m. (Daily Mail)

United's need for a striker also has them chasing Bolton's Nicolas Anelka but they face competition from rivals Manchester City. (Various)

Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez has tested Blackburn's resolve with a £4m bid for striker Jason Roberts. (Daily Mail)]

The Cottagers are also after a centre-back and Sammy Traore of Paris St Germain could be their man. (Daily Express)

Middlesbrough will shelve moves for Heerenveen's Afonso Alves and Adriano as they switch their attentions to Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City are keeping themselves busy as they chase Barcelona midfielder Thiago Motta. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce wants funds to buy Chelsea right-back Glen Johnson. (The Sun)

How many players can you chase at the same time? Manchester City are going for some kind of record. They are also in the hunt for ex-Arsenal loanee and Real Madrid striker Julio Baptista. (Guardian)

Derby attempts to sign a striker has seen them set their sights on Celtic's Kenny Miller. (Independent)

Unsettled Celtic midfielder Thomas Gravesen is poised for a season-long loan deal with Manchester City. (Daily Express)

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has not ruled out adding to his squad before Friday's transfer deadline. (Daily Express)


OTHER GOSSIP
Arsenal boss Wenger will give keeper Manuel Almunia the chance to stake a claim for the number one jersey after mistakes by Jens Lehmann. (Daily Mirror)

Lehmann will look for another club after after being told he is no longer the automatic first-choice. (Times)

Leicester manager Martin Allen could be replaced by Brendan Rodgers, who is part of Chelsea's backroom staff. (Daily Mirror)

Neil Warnock's return to management may be at League One side Doncaster. (Various)

Scotland defender Steven Pressley's place in the national side is in jeopardy after he lost his place in Gordon Strachan's Celtic side. (The Scotsman)


AND FINALLY
David Beckham went to the beach with pal Gordon Ramsey but could not go out surfing as he is not allowed to by LA Galaxy. (Daily Star)

 

[McFLY]

Thursday 30th August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Chelsea are trying to sign winger Ricardo Quaresma from manager Jose Mourinho's former club Porto. (The Sun)

An unhappy Dynamo Kiev president, Igor Surkis, wants to give Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko the chance of first-team football by signing him on loan. (The Sun)

Aston Villa have agreed a £9m deal for West Brom defender Curtis Davies with the move initially being on a season-long loan. (Various)

Derby have turned their attentions to Wigan striker Henri Camara after missing out on David Nugent. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland's injury problems will lead them to sign midfielder Thomas Gravesen on loan from Celtic. (The Daily Star)

Sheffield United are planning a double raid on Bolton to land Ivan Campo and Stelios Giannakopoulos. (Various)

Portsmouth will try to sign Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe if they fail to lure Nicolas Anelka from Bolton. (Times)

But the race is on for Defoe as he is also wanted by Chelsea and Aston Villa. (Daily Telegraph)

Pompey are doing all they can to land a striker and have targeted Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen. (Various)


OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester United striker Louis Saha may make a return to action in a reserve game against Everton on Thursday.

Shevchenko is doing double training sessions to get back up to full fitness and force his way into Chelsea's team. (Daily Star)

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone will buy a stake in QPR but has not ruled out attempting a takeover of Arsenal at a later date. (Times)

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney could return sooner than expected as he is already saying he wants to play. (Daily Mail)

Joe Cole had a row with Chelsea boss Mourinho over his lack of first-team football. (Daily Mail)


AND FINALLY
Arsenal want to trademark the word Gooner to use on their club merchandise. (Guardian)

 

[McFLY]

Friday 31st August gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme will sensationally fly into Merseyside for last-gasp transfer deadline day talks with Everton. (Daily Mail)

West Ham are understood to be monitoring the movements of former player Joe Cole after his reported difference of opinion with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. (Daily Telegraph)

Celtic rejected a stunning £9m bid from a Premier League club for midfielder Scott Brown - who cost them £4.5m two months ago. (Daily Record)

Manchester City are making a last-gasp move for Wigan's out-of-favour striker Henri Camara. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham expect to sign Derby midfielder Giles Barnes for about £5m on Friday. (The Sun)

After signing Yakubu and Thomas Gravesen, Everton will turn their attentions to £5m Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Appiah from Fenerbahce. (Daily Star)

Marseilles defender Habib Beye says he is going to join Newcastle United. (The Times)

Middlesbrough have renewed efforts to sign Portsmouth midfielder Gary O'Neil with a £5m offer. (Daily Mail)

Sunderland may sign Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy on Friday. (Daily Mail)

Fulham have beaten Rangers to the signing of Portsmouth defender Dejan Stefanovic. (Daily Mirror)

Glen Johnson is set to complete a £3m move to Portsmouth from Chelsea. (The Sun)

Reading's Nicky Shorey will join West Ham on Friday - but only if the Hammers make a new bid of at least £6m. (Daily Star)

But Reading will not drop their asking price below £8m. (Daily Express)

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp wants to sign Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen. (Daily Mail)

Birmingham will make a move for Fulham midfielder Papa Bouba Diop if attempts to sign Peter Luccin from Atletico Madrid fall through. (The Guardian)

Birmingham are favourites to sign Charlton midfielder Amdy Faye, who is also wanted by Portsmouth. (The Times)

Rangers have won the race to sign Charlton midfielder Amdy Faye. (Daily Record, The Sun, Daily Star)

Derby are in negotiations about signing Scotland striker Kenny Miller from Celtic. (The Sun)

Wigan's powerful striker Caleb Folan is signing for Hull for £1m - after snubbing a move to Charlton. (Daily Mirror)

West Brom defender Curtis Davies will complete a £9m switch to Aston Villa. (Various)

Wigan will sign Rachid Bouaouzan, Diego Placente and Marcus Bent on transfer deadline day. (Daily Mirror)

Middlesbrough are trying to clinch a deal for Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras for about £3m. (Various)

Birmingham are hoping to sign Mohammed Kallon, the forward who has been released by Monaco. (The Times)

Pompey striker David Nugent is sweating on a pay-off which will allow him to complete a £6m switch to Derby. (The Sun, Guardian)

QPR are close to a deal for Sheffield United defender Mikele Leigertwood. (The Times)

Middlesbrough are throwing a shock lifeline to Italian defender Alessandro Pistone. (Daily Mirror)

Nottingham Forest have signed West Brom striker John Hartson on loan. (The Times)

Blackburn striker Paul Gallagher has become a target for QPR manager John Gregory. (Daily Telegraph)

Fulham are chasing Celtic defender Bobo Balde. (The Sun)

Wisla Krakow want to sign Celtic's Poland striker, Maciej Zurawski. (The Sun)

Dynamo Kiev are interested in signing Celtic midfielder Jiri Jarosik. (The Sun)

Hearts are poised to sign 16-year-old midfielder Elias Wagner a week after he was released by Hibernian. (The Sun)

Hearts have rejected an offer from NEC Nijmegen for striker Michal Pospisil. (The Sun)

Hearts have rejected West Brom's offer to take striker Roman Bednar on loan. (The Sun)

St Mirren have signed Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Chris Birchall on loan from Coventry. (Daily Mail)

Aberdeen striker Steve Lovell has rejected moves to Bournemouth, Southend and Yoevil. (Various)

Aberdeen have failed in an attempt to sign former Scotland striker Scott Dobie after his release by Nottingham Forest. (Various)

Aberdeen defender Dan Smith is set to join MK Dons on loan. (Various)

Sheffield Wednesday centre-back Lee Bullen could be Craig Brewster's first signing target as he seeks to shore up Inverness' defence. (Various)


OTHER GOSSIP
New Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov and ex-Gunners vice-chairman David Dein are set to trigger a takeover battle to seize control of the club. (The Sun)

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit has told David Beckham to retire from international football. (The Sun)

Premier League supremo Dave Richards stormed out of a meeting after Uefa insisted it wanted the FA Cup winners in the Champions League. (The Sun)

Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is ready to hand England a Euro boost by playing for Spurs against Fulham on Saturday. (The Sun)

Man Utd boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Roy Keane is the best player he has ever signed for the Old Trafford club. (Daily Mirror)

Leicester defender Patrick Kisnorbo says he thought team-mate Clive Clarke was going to die when he collapsed during a game on Tuesday. (Daily Mirror)

Sheffield United fitness coach Tony Daley has quit after a bust-up with manager Bryan Robson over training methods. (Daily Mirror)

Wigan boss Chris Hutchings says Emile Heskey should be included in the England squad once more. (Daily Star)

Leicester are considering a move for Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood. (Daily Record)


AND FINALLY
Jose Mourinho has been sent an astonishing message of peace by Anders Frisk - the man who quit refereeing because of the Chelsea manager. (The Sun)

Sir Alex Ferguson broke one of his own rules this week - when he took a helicopter to watch son Darren's Peterborough play. (Daily Mirror)