Wednesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

AC Milan are planning a £20m summer swoop for Manchester United's Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.(The Sun) 
Liverpool are preparing to ruffle the feathers of city rivals Everton with a move for the Toffees' midfielder Steven Pienaar.(Daily Mail) 
Manchester City are planning to swoop for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, with Craig Bellamy, Martin Petrov and Shaun Wright-Phillips all set to depart Eastlands this summer.(Daily Mirror) 
Portsmouth goalkeeper David James will snub a summer move to West Brom in favour of playing what he described as "real football" in the Championship next season. On 10 April the Baggies sealed their promotion to the Premier League, while Pompey were relegated from the top flight.(The Sun) 
Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen wants to stay at Tottenham next season. The Icelander is currently on loan from French side Monaco. (The Sun) 
Bolton will place a £17m price tag on defender Gary Cahill if he makes it into Fabio Capello's England World Cup squad for this summer's tournament in South Africa.(The Sun) 
Birmingham and Blackburn are battling it out with Italian side Roma for Estudiantes striker Mauro Boselli. (The Sun) 
West Brom, who recently sealed their promotion back to the Premier League, say they will resist any offers for highly-rated midfielder Graham Dorrans this summer.(Daily Mail) 
Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega is set to snub a move to the Premier League's elite as he feels he has a better chance of playing by joining a team outside the top four. (Daily Mirror) 
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is tracking Stockport's teenage defender Sam Barnes.(Daily Mirror) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Everton boss David Moyes is the man to succeed him at Old Trafford. Apparently, Ferguson is ready to step down as United manager after one more season. (The Sun) 
Italian side Juventus are ready to give Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez until the end of the season to decide if he would like to take over as their new manager. They originally set a deadline for the end of this week.(Daily Mirror) 
Celtic are considering a move to make Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies their next manager after the former Rangers player intimated he would be interested in returning to Scotland.(The Times) 
Former England boss Steve McLaren looks set to reject an offer from West Ham to replace Gianfranco Zola as manager this summer. McLaren is currently managing FC Twente, who are just one win from this season's Dutch title, but has only one year left on his contract.(Daily Mail) 
The Hammers have two lists of managerial candidates: one for if they stay up, which McLaren heads, and one for if they are relegated, which is topped by Southampton boss Alan Pardew, who spent three years in the Upton Park hotseat before being sacked in December 2006.(Daily Express) 
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has opened talks to extend the contract of manager Chris Hughton, who this season led the club to promotion back to the Premier League after a season in the Championship.(Daily Mail) 
Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard says the club need to buy four "quality" players if they are to challenge for the Premier League title next season.(Daily Mail) 
Chelsea risk losing several of their biggest names for nothing this summer after being instructed by Roman Abramovich to suspend all contract talks until the end of the season. The Russian owner believes the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Ballack and Deco must earn new deals through their performances during the remainder of the season.(The Times) 
Portsmouth are expected to announce that their debts total £119m when their accounts for the last financial year are released later on Wednesday.(The Times) 
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is unsure whether to risk exacerbating striker Didier Drogba's groin injury by playing him in this weekend's match against Stoke as the title chase nears its climax. The Blues hold a one-point lead over second placed Manchester United with three games to play.(The Independent) 
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres rates England's starting XI as the second best in the world and believes they could be ready to go all the way in the World Cup, which begins on 11 June in South Africa. (Press Association)
England goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton says keeper Ben Foster must leave champions Manchester United if he wants to save his international career. "Foster was on a par with [West Ham's Robert] Green a while back but he is not playing first-team football anymore and that is going to count against him," said Shilton. (Daily Mail) 
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce has given midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen, whose contract expires this summer, until the end of today to decide if he wants to sign a new deal at Ewood Park.(Daily Mirror) 

AND FINALLY

Developers of the official 2010 World Cup video game seem to think England may struggle during the tournament proper, which begins on 11 June in South Africa. Having factored in the high altitude conditions at certain venues, players of the game will discover that the England side have been programmed to feel the energy-sapping effects sooner than some of their virtual opponents.(Daily Mail)
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