BREAKING GOSSIP
Spanish club Rayo Vallecano have confirmed that Wigan have completed the signing of midfielder Mohamed Diame. (skysports.com)
Lyon defender John Mensah is on the verge of sealing a season-long loan move to Sunderland after passing a medical.(Northern Echo)
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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is making a new £2m bid to bring Portsmouth goalkeeper David James to White Hart Lane. (Daily Mirror)
Another player leaving Portsmouth could be defender Sylvain Distin, who is attracting interest from Everton. (Daily Mirror)
Meanwhile, Pompey defender Sol Campbell has held talks with Sven-Goran Eriksson over a move to Notts County. (Daily Mirror)
Pompey are in talks to sign Bolton centre-back Danny Shittu and midfielder Gavin McCann.(The Sun)
Chelsea aim to lure Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato from AC Milan in a £40m deal - but not until next summer. (Daily Mirror)
Everton have agreed a £6m deal with Newcastle for centre-half Steven Taylor but the England Under-21 international's wage demands could be a stumbling block. (Daily Mirror)
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill is plotting a last-ditch bid for West Ham defender James Collins. (The Sun)
The Hammers are trying to rush through the sale of Collins to Villa and the signing of Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh before Sunday's game against Tottenham. (Daily Mirror)
West Ham are confident of agreeing a deal to sign Chamakh after raising their offer to about £7m plus a 20% sell-on clause.(The Times )
Hull boss Phil Brown will bid £4m for Portsmouth striker David Nugent after being snubbed by Real Madrid forward Alvaro Negredo.(The Sun)
Brown is aiming to make Lokomotiv Moscow striker Haminu Draman his fifth signing this summer, with the Ghanaian likely to cost around £3m.(The Independent)
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is ready to release forwards Marcus Bent and Gary McSheffrey.(The Sun)
Wigan are close to a £3m deal for Crystal Palace winger Victor Moses. (Daily Mirror)
Latics manager Roberto Martinez is set to step up his bid to sign Sheffield United defender Matthew Kilgallon in a £4m deal. (Daily Star)
Spanish club Espanyol have made a bid to sign Newcastle defender Fabricio Coloccini - but want the English club to carry on paying part of the Argentine's £40,000-a-week wages. (Daily Mirror)
Derby striker Rob Hulse has ruled out a switch to Middlesbrough after being linked with a £5m move to the Riverside. (The Independent)
OTHER GOSSIP
Liverpool defender Daniel Agger faces up to two months on the sidelines after being booked in for surgery on his back injury. (Daily Mail )
Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has signed a new four-year contract to make him the world's highest-paid full-back on £120,000 a week. (The Sun)
Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung has moved closer to his £81.5m takeover of Birmingham after putting down a £3m deposit and making clear his intention to offer £1 per share.(Daily Mail)
Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias believes a consortium being led by local businessman Barry Moat are closing in on a £100m deal to buy the Championship club.(Daily Mail)
Magpies owner Mike Ashley has given Moat a deadline of 1700 BST on Friday to buy the club.(The Times)
Steve Bruce has revealed his ambition to one day manage Manchester United and admits he is using Sunderland as a stepping-stone to the Old Trafford hotseat. (Daily Express)
AND FINALLY
Premier League stars have opened a campaign to get all African children into schooling. Portsmouth's David James, Kanu and Aaron Mokoena and Mikael Silvestre and Gael Clichy of Arsenal pledged support for the 1 Goal initiative linked to next year's World Cup in South Africa. (Daily Mirror)
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard says Manchester United will never make up for the loss of winger Cristiano Ronaldo, unless they sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.(Daily Mirror)
www.bbc.co.uk
