Thursday's gossip column

BREAKING GOSSIP

Newly-promoted Burnley's operational director Brendan Flood insists the club will not pay large sums for players, whilst he also refused to rule out the sale of the club's top stars.(Sky Sports) 
Real Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo has revealed that if he is forced to leave the Bernabeu then Liverpool would be an attractive destination.(Sky Sports) 
Former Manchester United full-back Arthur Albiston believes Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid could lead to fellow forward Carlos Tevez remaining at Old Trafford next season.(Daily Star) 
French club Lyon have declared an interest in signing former Arsenal midfielder and captain Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan. (Press Association)
Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo - who seems certain to join Real Madrid after United accepted an £80m bid - had reportedly secured a deal with Real that guaranteed the Spanish club would pay him £20m in compensation if a deal to bring him to the Bernabeu did not go through by 30 June. (Press Association) 
AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo has received Italy coach Marcello Lippi's blessing to move to Chelsea this summer.(Daily Star) 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Real Madrid claim they are already in negotiations with Manchester United to buy Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, with the Spanish club's general director Jorge Valdano saying: "I can't answer about him, I can only talk about players who are on their way here not those we are in negotiations over."( Daily Star) 
The Spanish media are reporting details of a 'leaked' contract for 24-year-old Ronaldo, which involved a transfer fee of £80m and a six-year contract with a salary of £9.5m, including an inbuilt 25% rise every year.(Daily Mirror) 
Sporting Lisbon have initiated talks with Manchester United about re-signing winger Nani on an extended loan spell or arranging a player-plus-cash exchange involving their captain, the attacking midfielder Joao Moutinho.(The Guardian) 
Chelsea's summer transfer plans have been dealt a blow by Bayern Munich placing a £65m asking price on midfielder Franck Ribery.(The Times) 
Blues striker Didier Drogba has ruled out an £18m transfer to Manchester City this summer after sources revealed he wishes to remain at Stamford Bridge.(The Sun) 
AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has turned his back on a summer move to Chelsea after insisting: "I have a contract with Milan."(Daily Star) 
In addition, the Stamford Bridge club have turned their attention to AZ Alkmaar striker Moussa Dembele after a £12m deal for FC Twente striker Marko Arnautovic broke down after his medical revealed a foot fracture.(Daily Mail) 
West Ham have joined Chelsea in the race to sign Manchester City's 19-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge, who is out of contract this summer.(Daily Mail) 
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is ready to launch a massive Spurs clear-out with up to 14 players facing the chop, including winger David Bentley and strikers Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko, who cost the London club £47.8m between them. (The Sun) 
The chairman of the White Hart Lane club, Daniel Levy, has placed a £12m asking price on 24-year-old Bentley, who is interesting Aston Villa. (Daily Express) 
Spurs will battle it out with Sunderland and Stoke to sign centre-back Richard Dunne from Manchester City.(Daily Mail) 
Also, Spurs' Brazilian striker Giovani dos Santos is set to join Spanish club Espanyol on a year-long loan with a view to a permanent £5m switch. (Daily Star) 
Newcastle are also preparing for a huge clear-out, with high-earning stars such as midfielders Kevin Nolan, Alan Smith, Jonas Gutierrez, Joey Barton and Geremi peddled to clubs at home and abroad.(Daily Mirror) 
Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure could move to England this summer, but his agent claims he will not be joining Arsenal because he has received better offers from other clubs.(Independent) 
The Gunners are preparing a £4m bid for Feyenoord's 16-year-old Dutch striker Luc Castaignos.(The Sun) 
Manchester City target, Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o, is set to leave Barcelona for Inter Milan with Zlatan Ibrahimovic moving to the Nou Camp. (Daily Mail) 
Everton are set to complete the signing of 23-year-old Cameroon midfielder Stephane Mbia for £8m from Rennes.(The Sun)
Birmingham are also closing in on a £3.5m deal for Coventry defender Scott Dann.(Daily Mirror) 
Blackburn striker Matt Derbyshire's proposed permanent move to Greek side Olympiakos is on hold until the future of fellow Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz is resolved.(The Sun) 
Wigan are also on the lookout for a new keeper with Derby County shot-stopper Roy Carroll top of prospective new Latics manager Roberto Martinez's list.(Daily Mail) 
Fulham are the new favourites to sign Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O'Neil in a £5m deal.(Daily Mirror) 
Stoke and Wigan are both chasing wantaway Middlesbrough striker Jeremie Aliadiere.(Daily Mirror) 
Another Middlesbrough player set to move this summer is Turkish international forward Tuncay, who has admitted his desire to quit the club. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Alan Shearer has met Freddy Shepherd to discuss his future as potential manager of Newcastle should the former chairman at St James' Park succeed in buying the club back from Mike Ashley. (The Guardian) 
West Brom are facing a player revolt if boss Tony Mowbray quits the club to take the vacant managerial post at Celtic, with several players ready to consider their future if the 45-year-old departs. (Daily Mirror) 
Alex Ferguson appears to have failed in a personal attempt to persuade striker Carlos Tevez that his future remains at ­Manchester United after he telephoned the 25-year-old to speak to him directly.(Various)
The Argentine, who spent the last two seasons at Old Trafford and is available to sign permanently for a fee believed to be around £25m, is disillusioned with United after a lack of first-team starts and the club's initial reluctance to make his loan move permanent and is considering his options.(The Guardian) 
The proposed takeover of Portsmouth by Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim may yet fall through should issues arise from the ongoing process of due diligence - but Al Fahim has denied the bid is a publicity stunt.(The Guardian) 
Former Newcastle executive director Dennis Wise has applied for the vacant managerial post at Watford, but he faces competition for the role from former Chelsea team-mate Gus Poyet.(The Sun) 
Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford has warned the League One club he could run down his contract and leave Elland Road for nothing next summer.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Bulgaria international Hristo Stoichkov has denied media reports claiming he has been named as the new coach of Iranian Pro League team Abu Moslem. (Reuters) 
Celtic and West Brom are still at war over Tony Mowbray as the Baggies prepare to line up Alan Irvine as his replacement. (The Sun) 
Former Celtic captain Paul Lambert has played down reports linking him to the manager's job at Motherwell, should Mark McGhee make the switch to Aberdeen. (Daily Record) 

AND FINALLY

While 58,000 England fans defied the tube strike and made it to Wembley for last night's game with Andorra, the visitors could not boast a single away supporter in the stadium, unless you count the 11 mascots from the principality. (Daily Mail)
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