Monday's Gossip Column.

[Offshore Toon 0]

TRANSFER RUMOURS

 

West Ham have made a £5.5m bid for West Brom striker Diomansy Kamara. (Daily Mirror)

 

Real Madrid want to sign Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas. (Daily Star)

 

Southampton defender Chris Baird is set to join Sunderland in a £3m switch. (The Sun)

 

Manchester United striker Alan Smith, who has been linked to Middlesbrough and Everton, wants to hold talks with manager Sir Alex Ferguson this week before deciding whether to leave the club. (Daily Mirror)

 

Chelsea winger Arjen Robben will fly out for the club's pre-season tour of the United States but still wants to join Real Madrid. (Daily Mirror)

 

Striker David Nugent has returned to Preston but his future is still in the balance after he stalled on a £6m move to Portsmouth. (Various)

 

Manchester City hope to snap up Charlton winger Jerome Thomas for £1m. (Daily Mirror)

 

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he would be happy with his squad - if West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun becomes his final signing of the summer. (Daily Star)

 

Though Benitez has actually made a bid of about £6.75m for highly-rated Dutch Under-21 international winger Ryal Babel . (The Independent)

 

Coventry want to sign Julian Gray after the midfielder was released by Birmingham. (The Sun)

 

Sheffield United are set to sign Cameroon right-back Jean-Joel Perrier after he was snubbed by Celtic, where he had a spell on loan from Rennes. (Daily Mirror)

 

Hibs boss John Collins ran the rule over Cameroonian defender Thierry Gathuesi, 25, and an unnamed striker during Saturday's 3-2 defeat by SV Vocklabruck in Austria.

 

OTHER GOSSIP

 

England manager Steve McClaren will hold talks with Jamie Carragher to try to persuade the Liverpool defender not to retire from international duty. (Various)

 

New Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is set to snub former England Under-21 boss David Platt as his number two and appoint Swedish friend and television pundit Hans Backe - after being turned down by Sweden assistant manager Roland Andersson. (The Sun)

 

Eriksson is set to appoint Backe as his assistant at Eastlands but Platt could still be given a role. (Daily Mirror)

 

AND FINALLY

 

Arsenal have been planning for life with striker Thierry Henry, who has joined Barcelona, but no player had been given his old number 14 shirt. Fans have suggested retiring the number to mark the Frenchman's contribution to the club. (Daily Express)

 

No mention for us, today.

Edited July 9, 2007 by Offshore Toon

[bawan 0]

TRANSFER RUMOURS

 

 

Arsenal have been planning for life with striker Thierry Henry, who has joined Barcelona, but no player had been given his old number 14 shirt. Fans have suggested retiring the number to mark the Frenchman's contribution to the club. (Daily Express)

 

No mention for us, today.

 

 

tut tut tut tut

[luckyluke 1]

This 'retiring the shirt' idea is absolute nonsense.

[The Fish 8946]

This 'retiring the shirt' idea is absolute nonsense.

works in American sports, but I like the tradition of trying to fill the shirt.

 

Clubs who have special places in the hearts for the special players who've worn the famous number.

Us and the No 9, Man U and their number 7, off the top of my head.

 

14 might not be as popular, but I'd like to see them hand that shirt to someone of genuine promise or realised talent.

 

 

 

and no Oba hasn't proven himself "worthy" of the number 9 yet

[bassplayerjj 0]

the Arsenal no.14 should be saved for Ryan Babel. That lad could be Henry's long lost brother. They not only look pretty similar but move very similarly with the ball and if Wenger got hold of him he could be a devastating forward.

[Gejon 2]

the Arsenal no.14 should be saved for Ryan Babel. That lad could be Henry's long lost brother. They not only look pretty similar but move very similarly with the ball and if Wenger got hold of him he could be a devastating forward.

 

 

A lot of Ajax fans really don't rate him that highly and a few were willing to bite our hands off when we were linked with him for about £5m.

 

Also looks like Liverpool may be in for him.

[bassplayerjj 0]

the Arsenal no.14 should be saved for Ryan Babel. That lad could be Henry's long lost brother. They not only look pretty similar but move very similarly with the ball and if Wenger got hold of him he could be a devastating forward.

 

 

A lot of Ajax fans really don't rate him that highly and a few were willing to bite our hands off when we were linked with him for about £5m.

 

Also looks like Liverpool may be in for him.

 

I'm only going by what I've seen of him on You-tube and at the euro u21s, especially the final. It's also interesting to see how a player does with a team of Arsenal's quality and a manager like Arsene. He could go either way, but I'd put money on him getting fairly near the top if he makes the right decisions and surrounds himself with the right people...