Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are a step closer to a £30m deal for Lyon striker Karim Benzema after the French side made a £15m move for Porto forward Lisandro Lopez.(Daily Star) 
Sir Alex Ferguson has offered Manchester United's Portuguese winger Nani to Wigan as bait in his bid to sign Ecuador winger Antonio Valencia. (Daily Mirror) 
Brazilian club Gremio have rejected a request from Manchester United to take midfielder Douglas Costa on a three-week trial because they want a straight cash bid.(The Times) 
Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor will become a target for Italian side AC Milan, if they miss out on Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. (The Guardian) 
Manchester City are favourites to secure the signature of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez. 
Full story: (The Sun) 
Inter Milan's Brazilian right-back Maicon is also a £10m target for City manager Mark Hughes. (Daily Express) 
Chelsea are closing in on a £4m deal for Charlton's 17-year-old forward Jonjo Shelvey, who is also being tracked by Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham. (Daily Express) 
FA Cup winners Chelsea are also set to make a move for goalkeeper Ross Turnbull who has rejected a new contract at Middlesbrough. (Daily Express) 
Liverpool will offload winger Sebastian Leto to Greek club Panathinaikos for £3m with defender Alvaro Arbeloa set to join Real Madrid in the next few days.(Telegraph) 
Stoke boss Tony Pulis is ready to pay £5m for Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins.(Daily Star) 
Blackburn are likely to be priced out of their bid to land Portsmouth's Peter Crouch because of the striker's £70,000-a- week wages.(The Sun) 
Sam Allardyce will bid £4m to bring Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher to Blackburn.(Daily Express) 
Tottenham are interested in Wigan's 21-year-old midfielder Lee Cattermole. (Daily Mail) 
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is tracking Aston Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell and Middlesbrough's Gary O'Neil. (Daily Mirror) 
Hodgson may also look at bringing Villerreal's American forward Jozy Altidore to Craven Cottage. (Telegraph) 
Gary Megson is ready to splash £8.5m on Swansea midfielder Ferrie Bodde and Reading striker Kevin Doyle. (Daily Mirror) 
Burnley boss Owen Coyle is closing in on Newcastle defender David Edgar. The full-back has had a medical at Turf Moor, along with Derby ace Tyrone Mears. (The Sun) 
Hull City are interested in Celtic striker Scott McDonald as well as the Glasgow club's own transfer target Marc Antoine Fortune. (Daily Record) 
Marc Antoine Fortune's agent Michael Manuello says the striker will make a straight choice between Celtic and Hull despite interest from Wolves and Fulham. (Daily Record)
Celtic have agreed a £3.8m fee with Nancy for Marc Antoine Fortune and are interested in departing Iraklis winger Fernando Marques and Real Sociedad left-back Xabi Castillo. (Daily Express) 
Departing Celtic defender Bobo Balde says Birmingham and Burnley have shown an interest in his services. (The Sun)
Sampdoria could make a £1m bid for Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati next week. (Various) 
Hearts have told Coventry they must pay £4m if they want England Under-21 winger Andrew Driver. (The Sun)
New Blackpool manager Ian Holloway will continue the club's pursuit of Rangers midfielder Charlie Adam. (Daily Record) 
Barnsley manager Simon Davey has urged Charlie Adam to leave Rangers and join his club. (Daily Mail)
Wolves have been told they will need to pay £3m for Doncaster defender Matthew Mills. (The Guardian) 
Sheffield United defender Matt Kilgallon is a £4m target for Wigan, Wolves and Birmingham. (The Sun)
Cardiff are eyeing a £1m move for Millwall defender Zak Whitbread. (The Sun) 
Cardiff boss Dave Jones wants £400,000-rated Motherwell captain Paul Quinn, 23. (Daily Star)
And the Bluebirds are also after Motherwell striker David Clarkson, although they face competition for the the 23-year-old from Bristol City, who have tabled a bid in the region of £600,000.(Bristol Evening Post) 
David Clarkson will decide in the next 48 hours whether to make an £800,000 move to Bristol City after Motherwell accepted the offer. (The Sun)
Middlesbrough have agreed a fee with Colchester for 24-year-old winger Mark Yeates. (Daily Star) 
Former Reading striker Leroy Lita has opened talks with Crystal Palace. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Gareth Southgate wants former England team-mate Phil Neville to join him at Middlesbrough. The Boro boss has offered Everton skipper Neville, 32, the chance to join his backroom staff. (The Sun) 
Preston North End manager Alan Irvine has emerged as the leading contender to succeed Tony Mowbray at West Bromwich Albion. (The Guardian) 
St Johnstone's Derek McInnes is expected to sign a contract extension despite being heavily linked with the manager's job at West Brom. (Daily Record)

AND FINALLY

Manchester United fans want their new rugby league-style kit scrapped before it goes on sale next month. The shirt has a 'V' across the front and has been accused of looking "too American". (The Sun)
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