Wednesday Gossip

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BREAKING GOSSIP

 

Everton boss David Moyes is being linked with a summer swoop for CSKA Moscow midfielder Dudu, who has been on loan at Valencia. The Brazilian would cost around £8m. (clubcall.com, 0850 BST)

 

TRANSFER RUMOURS

 

Manchester United have made bids for French youngsters Jeremy Helan and Darnel Situ. Helan is a 15-year-old Rennes left-back, and one of the most sought after teenagers in European football, while French Under-16 captain Situ could also make the switch to Old Trafford from Lens. (Daily Mail)

 

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is ready to sell Dean Ashton and Anton Ferdinand in a bid to fund moves for Everton striker Andrew Johnson and Newcastle defender Steven Taylor. (Daily Mirror)

 

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson wants to bring back old boy Steve Finnan from Liverpool, who are believed to be willing to sell him for £2m. (Daily Mirror)

 

Middlesbrough and Bolton are back on the trail of Sporting Lisbon striker Simon Vukcevic. (Daily Mail)

 

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has targeted Real Zaragoza's £10m-rated striker Diego Milito after failing with an audacious bid to land Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o. (Daily Mirror)

 

Spurs boss Ramos is also keen on Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano from his old club Seville. (Daily Mirror)

 

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has lined up former France goalkeeper and long-serving Bordeaux number one Ulrich Rame to act as cover for Pepe Reina. (Daily Mail)

 

Liverpool are also interested in 20-year-old Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik and Espanyol's £6m-rated winger Albert Riera. (Daily Mail and The Sun)

 

Manchester City have offered £12m for Zenit St Petersburg striker Andrei Arshavin. (The Sun)

 

Wigan winger Luis Antonio Valencia will snub interest from Manchester United and Liverpool to stay with the Lancashire club for another season. (Various)

 

Steve Sidwell will complete his £5m move from Chelsea to Aston Villa before the end of the week. (Various)

 

OTHER GOSSIP

 

Manchester City have stepped up their attempt to lure Luiz Felipe Scolari to the club, with another approach to the Brazilian coach, but their £3.2m-a-year offer falls short of the £3.9m Scolari is thought to be holding out for. (Times)

 

Former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who retired from playing in 2007 because of injury problems, will be in charge of the club's reserve side next season. (Daily Mirror)

 

Steve Coppell has taken a £500,000-a-year pay cut to stay on as Reading manager next season as he bids to return the Berkshire club back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. (Various)

 

Edgar Davids will leave Ajax when his contract expires on 30 June, with Dutch and foreign clubs reportedly interested in signing the midfielder. (The Independent)

 

Paul Lambert is being lined up as the new Leicester manager after resigning as Wycombe boss on Tuesday. (Various)

 

AND FINALLY

 

Bristol City are paying for their players to tour Wembley stadium ahead of Saturday's Championship play-off final. "Some of the lads have not been there before so it will get rid of some of the early excitement," said manager Gary Johnson. (Times)

 

We all know about famous modern managers refusing to speak to television stations because of perceived wrongs in their coverage - but what about Stockport boss Jim Gannon? He, reportedly, is not cooperating with Sky before the club's play-off League Two play-off final against Rochdale because of a nine-month customer relations dispute over his defective Sky box. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien will not take a penalty if the Champions League final against Manchester United goes to a shoot-out. Last time he took a spot-kick, which he missed, his mother Aba was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack. (Various)

 

Manchester United have been kept on British time since they arrived in Moscow for the Champions League final, choosing to ignore the three-hour time difference in the Russian capital. (Daily Mail)

 

Uefa president Michel Platini has branded Manchester United "unethical" because of the £1bn debt. (The Sun)

[Guest alex]

I loved Platini as a player but he comes across as quite the twat nowadays.