TRANSFER GOSSIP
Everton will battle it out with Arsenal to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh for £7m in the summer.(The Sun)
New Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has given the club's chief executive Garry Cook a list of players he wants to sign, with Juventus left-back Giorgio Chiellini one of his targets. (Daily Mirror)
Mancini is also keen on Inter Milan right-back Maicon. (Daily Telegraph)
Tottenham are set to move for Portsmouth full-back Nadir Belhadj in January, with Blackburn and Everton also interested in the Algeria defender. (Daily Mail)
Blackburn have offered a four-year deal to United States midfielder Stuart Holden, who plays for Major League Soccer outfit Houston Dynamo. (The Sun)
Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan are monitoring 16-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelo Lukaku. (Daily Mail)
Birmingham City want to turn Joe Hart's loan switch from Manchester City into a permanent move and are also close to agreeing a £2.5m deal for Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel.(Daily Mirror)
West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans is wanted by Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Everton, Stoke City and Sunderland but the Baggies say the 22-year-old midfielder is not for sale.(Daily Mirror)
OTHER GOSSIP
Roberto Mancini's first job as Manchester City manager will be to hold showdown talks with £32.5m Brazilian forward Robinho, who the Italian sees as the key to City's future.(The Sun)
Mancini faces a battle to win over a number of disillusioned City players who are outraged by the sacking of former boss Mark Hughes.(Daily Mirror)
City delayed sacking Mark Hughes for three weeks to give Mancini an easy start as manager, after the Italian verbally agreed to take charge at Eastlands on 2 December.(Daily Mail)
Hughes had 18 months left on his contract and will receive a maximum pay-out of £3m following his departure from City, but the final figure he receives will depend on how quickly he finds a new job.(The Guardian)
Mancini took the Eastlands job knowing he was not the club's first choice. City's chief executive Garry Cook flew to Amsterdam at the start of December to offer the post to Guus Hiddink.(Daily Telegraph)
Former England midfielder David Platt, a close friend of Mancini, is set to join the Italian's coaching team at Eastlands.(The Independent)
Alan Curbishley could return as West Ham boss if David Sullivan's takeover of the Upton Park club goes through.(Daily Express)
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce says he will have to sell players before he can strengthen his squad in the January transfer window.(Daily Mirror)
AND FINALLY
Sunderland striker Darren Bent is terrified of spiders and will consider hypnotherapy to combat his arachnophobia, with the possibility that he may be part of England's squad for the 2010 World Cup in spider-infested South Africa. (The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk
