Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool have emerged as shock contenders to bring striker Peter Crouch back to Anfield in a £12m deal.(Daily Star) 
Rafael Benitez's bid to sign Spain winger David Silva has been boosted by bankruptcy-threatened Valencia's failure to sell David Villa.(The Independent) 
Bolton boss Gary Megson is on the brink of landing defender Zat Knight for £4.5m from Aston Villa. (The Sun)
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson is ready to snap up Manchester City defender Ryan McGivern on loan. (Daily Star) 
Fulham, Tottenham, Portsmouth and West Ham are all pursuing out-of-favour Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen, worth around £4m.(Daily Mail) 
Ecuadorian winger Fernando Guerrero, recently linked with Hull, may be offered a permanent deal with Burnley following a trial. (Daily Telegraph) 
West Ham are confident of signing Swiss teenage defender Fabio Daprela from Grasshopper Zurich, but face competition. (The Times)
Ajax coach Martin Jol is interested in signing Spurs full-backGareth Bale. (The Times) 
Hull manager Phil Brown is keen to persuade veteran striker Mark Viduka to forgo retirement plans by moving to the Tigers under a pay-as-you-play contract. (The Sun)
Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov is set to leave Manchester City for Lazio in a possible £4.5m deal. (The Sun) 
Veteran full-back Steve Finnan, now at Espanyol, is being chased by Sunderland, Stoke and Wolves. (The Sun)
Stoke boss Tony Pulis is planning a fresh £5.5m bid for West Ham's injury-prone striker Dean Ashton. (The Sun) 
Real Madrid forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will not move to Stuttgart, so Premier League clubs such as Tottenham and Arsenal may step up their interest.(The Independent) 
Plymouth are linked with a move for Rangers midfielder Charlie Adam after Blackpool stalled on a move. (Daily Record) 
Everton want a quick answer from Sweden midfielder Rasmus Elm about a possible move to Goodison Park.(Daily Mirror) 
Wolfsburg are pondering a move for Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins. (Daily Mail) 
Charlton, whose £2m-rated teenager Jonjo Shelvey is wanted by Ipswich, are targeting ex-Birmingham City defender Radhi Jaidi. (Daily Mail)
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray looks to have beaten West Brom to the signing of Coventry defender Danny Fox. (Daily Mail) 
Sheffield United, who may lose striker Billy Sharp to Notts County, want to buy Tottenham midfielder Danny Rose and Charlton defender Jonathan Fortune. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Boss Alan Shearer is ready to leave Newcastle in disgust at Mike Ashley's failure to sell the club.(Daily Express) 

AND FINALLY

Billionaire Arab Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan is poised to pour millions into Welsh premier League side Bangor City after going to university in the town. Bangor's average gate is 400.(The Sun)
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