Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United's interest in Gremio's Douglas Costa is cooling after the Brazilian club demanded £20m for the teenage forward.(The Times) 
Manchester City have tested Everton's determination to hang on to defender Joleon Lescott by submitting a £15m bid to Goodison Park. (Various)
City will make a £30m move for Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan if they fail to agree personal terms with Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor. (Daily Mail) 
Real Madrid are confident that an improved bid of around £32m will be enough to prise Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso away from Liverpool.
If Alonso does depart for the Bernabeu, Valencia midfielder David Silva would be top of Reds' boss Rafael Benitez's shopping list. (Daily Mirror) 
Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal has told clubs in pursuit of midfielder Franck Ribery that it is now too close to the start of the season for the France midfielder to leave. (Daily Telegraph)
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has denied that there has been any approach for winger Ashley Young after rumours that Tottenham and Chelsea were mulling over £25m bids.(The Times) 
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has entered the £12m race for Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch.(The Sun) 
Hodgson is also considering a move for Columbia international forward Fredy Montero who plays for Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders. (Daily Star) 
Tottenham are poised to add to their forward line with the signing of Real Madrid's Alvaro Negredo.(The Sun) 
Spurs are also holding out hope of landing Real Madrid and Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar despite Stuttgart already having had a £17m bid accepted for the player. (The Times) 
Sheffield United pair Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker, both right-backs, will move to White Hart Lane in a deal worth a total of £8m after Tottenham stole a march on Everton who were also interested.(The Independent) 
Leeds' highly-rated midfielder Fabian Delph (on photo) has attracted an offer from Tottenham, but is also being chased by Fulham.(The Times) 
Arsenal will attempt to lure defender Brede Hangeland from Fulham with the offer of Philippe Senderos as part of a deal worth around £10m. (Daily Star)
Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has claimed that a move to Arsenal would be "perfect". (Daily Mirror) 
Portsmouth centre-back Sylvain Distin is ready to take a pay-cut in order to seal a £2m move to Aston Villa.(The Sun) 
Chelsea have told Portugal international defender Ricardo Carvalho that he will be staying at Stamford Bridge after a possible move to Inter Milan fell through.(The Sun) 
Carvalho could be joined by Serbia midfielder Nemanja Matic who is close to tying up a £5m move from MFK Kosice to Chelsea.(The Sun) 
Blackburn are ready to splash £2.5m on Rapid Vienna forward Erwin Hoffer as a replacement for Roque Santa Cruz. (The Sun) 
Valencia targetman Nikola Zigic is also in Blackburn's sights, but there are 15 clubs in the hunt for the Serbia striker according to his agent.(The Independent) 
Wigan Athletic are in negotiations with Crystal Palace over a possible switch for £5m-rated midfielder Victor Moses.(The Times) 
Midfielder Dean Whitehead could be on his way from Sunderland to Stoke in a £5m switch. (Daily Star)
Birmingham are keen to sign £5m-rated midfielder Craig Gardner from Aston Villa ahead of their return to the Premier League. (Daily Star) 
Hamilton's 18-year-old midfielder James McCarthy is set to sign for Wigan after turning down a move to Wolves. (The Sun) 
Sporting Lisbon are back in talks with Manchester City over a possible loan move for striker Felipe Caicedo.(The Sun) 
Sheffield Wednesday forward Marcus Tudgay is ready to to submit a transfer request to try and force through a £2m move to Burnley. (The Times) 
Sunderland's attempts to sign defender Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace have been frustrated with the Eagles holding out for £5m. (The Sun) 
Out-of-contract winger Jerome Thomas could be thrown a Premier League lifeline by Hull City after an ill-fated spell at Portsmouth. (Daily Mirror)
St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes is hopeful of bringing former Millwall colleague Filipe Morais to McDiarmid Park. (Daily Record) 

OTHER GOSSIP

LA Galaxy and England midfielder David Beckham has revealed that he would only move back to the Premier League with Manchester United. (Various)
Beckham also believes that John Terry will not turn his back on boyhood club Chelsea to move to Manchester City. (Various) 
Chelsea's Joe Cole will miss the start of the season after the midfielder underwent surgery on his troublesome knee. (Various)
Former Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson has turned down an offer to coach Iranian Premier League side Persepolis Theran to stay as a Manchester United ambassador. (Daily Mail) 
Striker Carlos Tevez has revealed that big-spending Real Madrid made an approach for him before he finalised his move to Manchester City.(Daily Telegraph) 

AND FINALLY

Oasis's Noel Gallagher does not want Chelsea captain John Terry at his beloved Manchester City. "He's got funny eyes and he's a cry baby," he said. (Daily Mirror)
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