Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hopes to bolster his side's injury-hit defence by signing Sol Campbell. The former England defender is a free agent after settling his contract dispute with Notts County, who he left a month into a five-year deal in September.(Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is ready to part with defender Anton Ferdinand in his bid to acquire Tottenham full-back Alan Hutton.(The Sun) 
Manchester City are leading the chase for AC Milan full-back Ignazio Abate.(The Sun) 
Everton hope to secure a loan deal for Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan in the new year.(The Guardian) 
Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko is being targeted by Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal, according to the Russian's agent Oleg Artemov. (Daily Express)
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish wants to complete a deal to sign on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart on a permanent basis.(Daily Mirror) 
Midfielder Lee Carsley will be an unexpected casualty of McLeish's rebuilding campaign at St Andrew's when the January transfer window opens.(Daily Mail) 
Fulham have sent a circular to Premier League and Championship clubs to make it be known that strikers Eddie Johnson and David Elm, forward Seol Ki-Hyeon and defenders Fredrik Stoor and Toni Kallio are available for transfer as the Cottagers try to slash their wage bill.(Daily Mail) 
Manager Walter Smith fears that Rangers may not have the money to match striker Kris Boyd's demands over a new contract. (The Sun) 
Celtic's largest shareholder Dermot Desmond will hold the key to any potential move to take striker Robbie Keane on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. (The Times)


OTHER GOSSIP

Portsmouth directors are "working around the clock" to try to save the club from entering administration, a senior source has revealed. (Daily Express) 
Midfielder Luca Modric could be on the substitutes' bench for Tottenham's home game against Wolves on Saturday after recovering from a broken leg and playing 70 minutes of a training-ground friendly against non-League Grays.(The Sun) 
Former Wycombe and Portsmouth boss Tony Adams is being lined up for a return to management for Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls. (Daily Express) 
Crystal Palace have five days to pay their players or face a possible mass walk-out. Neil Warnock and his players have not been paid for November as owner Simon Jordan fights "cash-flow" problems. Under the terms of their contracts, Palace's players must be paid by 14 December - a fortnight after their money was due.(Daily Mirror) 
Former Aston Villa, Derby and QPR boss John Gregory has returned to management with Israel's top Arab club Maccabi Ahi Nazareth.(Daily Mirror) 
Tottenham defender Ledley King suffered a setback on his return from a knee injury on Tuesday when he was forced out of a friendly designed to boost his match fitness.(Daily Mirror) 
Rangers manager Walter Smith says there was a secret plan to sack him last season as part of desperate cost-cutting measures at Ibrox. (Various)
Former Rangers manager Paul Le Guen will allow Celtic midfielder Landry N'Guemo to play in January's Old Firm derby before joining the Cameroon squad ahead of the African Cup of Nations. (Various) 
But Rangers could be without defender Madjid Bougherra after the whole Algeria squad were ordered to report on 27 December. (Daily Record)
Vladimir Romanov says Scottish football is pointless because of bias towards the Old Firm. (The Sun)
Unirea Urziceni coach Dan Petruscu seems to have blown his chance of becoming Scotland manager after his agent revealed to the media details of a private conversation with the Scottish Football Association. (Daily Record) 
The Scottish FA was only going to talk to Dan Petruscu out of courtesy because the Romanian's agent put his name forward but may now scrap that plan. (The Sun)
Two interested parties have walked away shortly before concluding a takeover deal with St Mirren. (The Herald)


AND FINALLY

Premier League newcomers Burnley have a new fan - Prince Charles. Royal insiders claim the 61-year-old was "over the moon" when the Clarets beat Manchester United and "sick as a parrot" after they were beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth.(The Sun) 
England may have found a solution to their historical penalty shoot-out woes after former Southampton forward Matthew Le Tissier, who scored 47 out of 48 he took as a professional, offered to provide specialist coaching in the area.(The Sun)
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