BREAKING NEWS
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has rejected claims a deal has already been struck to sell Franck Ribery to Real Madrid in the summer for a fee of around £49m.
(German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung)
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will move for Liverpool trio Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard if the Reds finish outside the top four in the Premier League this season and are forced to sell their superstars.(The Sun)
Zenit St Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow, Spartak Moscow and Sporting Lisbon are interested in buying Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko but Spurs want £13m for the out-of-favour Russian and will not consider letting him leave in a loan deal.(Daily Mirror)
Hull City boss Phil Brown hopes to sign Manchester City striker Benjani on loan in January, but only if the Eastlands club agree to pay half of the Zimbabwe star's £50,000-a-week wages.(The Sun)
Manchester City have made an enquiry about signing £6m-rated Bari defender Leonardo Bonucci. (Daily Mail)
Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford has put a £2m move to Newcastle on hold so he can help his side try to upset Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday.(Daily Mirror)
Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan is planning a £3m bid for Leeds striker Robert Snodgrass. (The Sun)
Everton manager David Moyes hopes to sign 17-year-old midfielder Maxime Lestienne from Belgian side Moucron. (Daily Mail)
Portsmouth have invited Manchester City to make an offer for their £8m-rated defender Younes Kaboul.(Daily Mirror)
Pompey boss Avram Grant has been told to sell at least £6m-worth of players in January to stop the club being declared bankrupt. Kaboul, David James Kevin-Prince Boateng, Nadir Belhadj and David Nugent could all be up for grabs.(The Sun)
Liverpool have held preliminary talks with Crystal Palace about signing highly-rated teenager Victor Moses. (Daily Star)
Aston Villa have joined Liverpool and Tottenham in the chase for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, who could be available for around £8m.(The Guardian)
Celtic have pulled out of a deal to sign Nafto Novopolotsk defender Dmitry Verkhovtsov after inviting the Belarus international over for a trial. (Daily Record)
Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov is refusing to fund manager Csaba Laszlo's bid to sign Plymouth striker Steven Maclean and Charlton frontman Izale McLeod. (Daily Record)
Wigan have made a shock move to sign Ivory Coast centre half Steve Gohouri from German side Borussia Monchengladbach.(Daily Mirror)
Sheffield United striker Jamie Ward is set to sign a new deal despite interest from West Brom.(Daily Mirror)
Derby, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich are all chasing in-form Swindon striker Charlie Austin. (Daily Mirror)
OTHER GOSSIP
Former Bolton midfielder Peter Reid, currently assistant boss at Stoke, is being lined up as Wanderers' next manager after Gary Megson was sacked on Wednesday.(Daily Express)
Reid could be installed on a caretaker basis until the end of the season.(The Times)
Bolton will turn to Darren Ferguson as their next manager if they fail to persuade Burnley boss Owen Coyle to replace Megson. (Daily Telegraph)
Mark Hughes, sacked as Manchester City boss before Christmas, is not interested in the vacant Bolton job and Coyle and former Wigan boss Paul Jewell have also ruled out the possibility of taking charge at the Reebok Stadium.(Daily Mail)
Megson is understood to be a major contender for the vacant managerial post at Sheffield Wednesday.(The Independent)
Preston chairman Derek Shaw has admitted that Darren Ferguson is in the frame to succeed Alan Irvine, who was sacked earlier this week, as North End boss. Former Motherwell manager Jim Gannon is also believed to be on Shaw's shortlist. (The Sun)
Doncaster boss Sean O'Driscoll is another of Shaw's targets to be the next Preston manager.(Daily Mail)
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has told Jose Mourinho to forget any ideas of a shock return to Stamford Bridge, after the former Blues boss revealed he plans to take charge of an English club next season.(The Sun)
AND FINALLY
Former Wimbledon hardman Vinnie Jones has been offered $1m to team up with his old friend Paul Gascoigne in the next Celebrity Big Brother.(The Sun)
www.bbc.co.uk
