Thursday's Gossip

[Tom 13804]

SUNDERLAND GOSSIP

 

Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier will be on Sunderland's shortlist for their vacant manager's job and is being given serious consideration for the post. (The Sun)

 

Houllier, currently technical director at France's development academy in Clarefontaine, is desperate to return to England's Premier League. (Daily Express)

 

Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist - a former Sunderland striker - has also been linked with the post at the Stadium of Light, although he has been earmarked as the successor to manager Walter Smith at Ibrox. (Daily Express)

 

Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn is still sifting through the pile of more than 30 applications and is hoping to cut down the number of candidates to 10 by the weekend. (The Sun)

 

Quinn will not rush the process to find the right replacement for former boss Roy Keane and is happy to give caretaker boss Ricky Sbragia the chance to show he is up to taking the job permanently. (The Times)

 

Sunderland's majority shareholder Ellis Short will have an input in the search for a new boss but the shortlisting and interviewing process will be led by Quinn. (The Times)

 

Dutch coach Co Adriaanse has ruled himself out of the running for the Black Cats post. (The Times)

 

Sunderland officials have contacted former Brescia coach Serse Cosmi about the vacant position. (Daily Star)

 

TRANSFER GOSSIP

 

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is urging the Blues to make a £6m offer for Amir Zaki, currently on loan at Wigan from Zamalek. (The Independent)

 

Wigan do not have a binding fixed-price option to sign Egypt striker Zaki permanently but had hoped to pair him with his compatriot, Middlesbrough frontman Mido, if Emile Heskey leaves for Aston Villa in January. (The Independent)

 

Brazilian defender Alex has asked to leave Chelsea and AC Milan and Sevilla have already expressed an interest in the £10m-rated centre-back. (The Sun)

 

Greek side Panathinaikos also want Alex and have already asked about signing him. (The Independent)

 

Chelsea have agreed a £4m deal for SC Braga striker Orlando Sa but the Portuguese club hope to keep him for the rest of the season. (The Independent)

 

Blues boss Scolari is also keen on Fluminese defender Thiago Silva, available on a free transfer after running down his contract, but faces competition from Inter Milan, AC Milan and Villarreal. (The Independent)

 

Celtic are set to make a cut-price £5m move for West Ham's Wales striker Craig Bellamy. (The Sun)

 

Manchester City have also been alerted by the Hammers' decision to make Bellamy available for £6m. (Daily Mirror)

 

City are poised to make a £50m offer for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres but accept the Spanish striker is unlikely to want to leave the Reds. (Daily Mirror)

 

Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra, Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz and Valencia forward David Villa remain on Manchester City's shopping list. (Daily Mirror)

 

Valencia say they will turn down any bids from City for Villa. (The Sun)

 

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has put Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery top of his January transfer hit-list. (Daily Express)

 

Aston Villa are battling City in a £6m scrap for Sheffield United defender Kyle Naughton. (Daily Mirror)

 

Chelsea are expecting a January bid from Manchester City for left-back Wayne Bridge but would prefer not to sell him. (The Independent)

 

Blackburn boss Paul Ince has been told to draw up a list of potential targets for the January transfer window, despite facing the sack if he does not improve Rovers' results before Christmas. (The Times)

 

Ince hopes to sign a right-back, midfielder and centre-forward. (The Times)

 

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is keen on Blackburn's £5m-rated defender Stephen Warnock. (Daily Mirror)

 

Blackburn are stepping up their chase for Wolfsburg's German international left-back Marcel Schafer, who is Warnock's most likely replacement at Ewood Park. (Daily Mirrror)

 

Newcastle will swoop for versatile Fiorentina midfielder Juan Vargas in January and are ready to pay £8m for the Peru international. (The Sun)

 

Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa are all tracking Inter Milan striker David Suazo. (Daily Mirror)

 

Watford have turned down Stoke's £1m offer for Tommy Smith and want £3m for the striker. (Daily Mirror)

 

Liverpool striker Robbie Keane insists he will not leave Anfield, despite being linked with a move back to Tottenham. (Daily Mirror)

 

Former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos will raid White Hart Lane to take Ivory Coast midfielder Didier Zokora to his new side Real Madrid. (Daily Mirror)

 

Ramos will turn his attention to Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra if he fails to snap up Zokora. (Daily Express)

 

Spurs will go for Diarra if Zokora does join Real - and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green, Portsmouth right-back Glen Johnson, Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing and Pompey striker Jermain Defoe are also on boss Harry Redknapp's radar. (Daily Express)

 

West Ham captain Lucas Neill wants a pay rise to sign an extended deal at Upton Park but the Australian international defender is likely to have to accept a huge pay cut in order to stay at the club. (The Times)

 

Neill could even be sold in January if the Hammers receive a suitable offer. (The Times)

 

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola's priority is to keep hold of goalkeeper Rob Green and defender Matthew Upson but he will sell midfielder Hayden Mullins, defender Danny Gabbidon and forward Luis Boa Morte. (The Times)

 

Defenders Calum Davenport and Jonathan Spector and midfielders Lee Bowyer and Nigel Quashie are also up for grabs as West Ham look to reduce the size of their first-team squad. (The Independent)

 

Upson has emerged as a £10m target for Manchester City, who could turn to Everton's Joleon Lescott if the Hammers refuse to do business. (Daily Express)

 

Everton are looking at taking City's Brazilian striker Jo on loan. (Daily Express)

 

Toffees boss David Moyes has drawn up a list of 30 possible striker signings but Henrik Larsson's wage demands mean the former Celtic and Barcelona frontman, who is now a free agent, will not be coming to Goodison Park. (The Independent)

 

Wigan have opened new contract talks with England Under-21 defender Ryan Taylor, who will be a free agent in the summer. (The Sun)

 

Former England goalkeeper Ian Walker has had his contract at Bolton ended by mutual consent. (Daily Mirror)

 

Walker could now move to the United States and join a Major League Soccer club. (The Sun)

 

Kilmarnock boss Jim Jefferies is keen on former Dundee United striker Robbie Winters, who is a free agent after leaving Norwegian side Brann Bergen. (Daily Record)

 

Jefferies is also eyeing striker Armand One, who used to play for Partick Thistle and Wrexham but is now with Turun Palloseura in Finland. (Daily Record)

 

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OTHER FOOTBALL GOSSIP

 

West Ham midfielder Kieron Dyer, who has been sidelined since suffering a double break of his right leg in August 2007, will return to action in a specially arranged practice match on Thursday and could could be back on first-team duty by Christmas if he comes through the game unscathed. (The Independent)

 

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has warned it will take Gunners defender Emmanuael Eboue time to recover from being booed by his own fans during Saturday's win over Wigan. (The Sun)

 

Former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp has joined Chelsea's backroom staff and will spend two days a week coaching the reserve team. (The Sun)

 

Ex-Chelsea boss Avram Grant tried to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery and AC Milan's Brazilian superstar Kaka during his time in charge at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Mirror)

 

Hearts have pleaded with Second Division side Arbroath to wait until January for an overdue payment of £15,000 that they owe as part of defender Andy Webster's transfer fee. (Daily Record)

 

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AND FINALLY

 

England captain John Terry hogged the karaoke machine at Chelsea's Christmas party - bellowing out numbers by Luther Vandross, Biggie Smalls and Soulja Boy. (Daily Mirror)

[bobbyshinton 59]

ta

[tinofbeans 86]

nver heard of him. vargas that is.

 

is it me or does versatile mean that he doesn't know which position to play in....

[Kid Dynamite 5873]

Im surprised the papers even bother making stuff up anymore with us. Theres no way in hell MA is going to drop £8million when hes tryign to sell the club

[Park Life 70]

Im surprised the papers even bother making stuff up anymore with us. Theres no way in hell MA is going to drop £8million when hes tryign to sell the club

 

Agreed.

[Cid_MCDP 0]

Im surprised the papers even bother making stuff up anymore with us. Theres no way in hell MA is going to drop £8million when hes tryign to sell the club

 

No doubt. If we've got that kind of scratch, we ought to just pay Owen.

[Asprilla 96]

Im surprised the papers even bother making stuff up anymore with us. Theres no way in hell MA is going to drop £8million when hes tryign to sell the club

 

No doubt. If we've got that kind of scratch, we ought to just pay Owen.

Yup.

[bror 0]

Considering Jose enrique panics 9 times out of 10 when he gets the ball and usually wastes it. I wouldnt mind buying vargas. Hes like the best LB in the game on the newest FM. Dont see why we would need suazo tho, with 2 very good strikers in martins and owen, maybe in the summer if owen doesnt leave. Tho id rather spend the money on a left winger cos duff/nzogbia arent good enough. well or a right winger, just get someone good to partner gutierrez, i suggest cristiano ronaldo or franck ribery, considering ashley is such a nice fella.

[Ketsbaia 0]

Considering Jose enrique panics 9 times out of 10 when he gets the ball and usually wastes it. I wouldnt mind buying vargas. Hes like the best LB in the game on the newest FM. Dont see why we would need suazo tho, with 2 very good strikers in martins and owen, maybe in the summer if owen doesnt leave. Tho id rather spend the money on a left winger cos duff/nzogbia arent good enough. well or a right winger, just get someone good to partner gutierrez, i suggest cristiano ronaldo or franck ribery, considering ashley is such a nice fella.

 

Oh dear

 

And Enrique was bloody good against Pompy.

[bror 0]

Well yes that was his first good appearance in my eyes, still id like to see him hit 50% of his passes one more game.

[soaringmag 0]

Did I scan through it too fast or were there no speculations/rumours of who is going to snag Owen away from us? Kind of scares me given that most of the deals that end up happening seem to pass under the radar while the media goes into transfer frenzy and just start filling their rags with tripe...

 

 

Tho id rather spend the money on a left winger cos duff/nzogbia arent good enough.

I think they are both pretty good and can be a lot better, but neither have had a chance to get into a rhythm in the team/position. Zog had been stuck at left back for super long and Duff has only been looking in form this season until picking up an injury.

[bror 0]

Theyre alright technically ye, i just dont think they have the composure to make the right decisions in front of goal. They both tend to dribble 1 to many players and nzogbia shoots too much when there are better options available. This makes them more suitable for bottom half side imo, but i guess thats what newcastle are for the present

[Fop 1]

Did I scan through it too fast or were there no speculations/rumours of who is going to snag Owen away from us? Kind of scares me given that most of the deals that end up happening seem to pass under the radar while the media goes into transfer frenzy and just start filling their rags with tripe...

 

I'm not sure anyone will come for him, or indeed he'll go in January (unless it's inexplicably one of the top 4), his options (footballing and economic) will be better on a free in the summer.

[Kid Dynamite 5873]

Chelsea are our biggest danger, Drogba wont be there for long and Roman wont splash the cash. No brainer to go for Owen

[Guest alex]

Chelsea are our biggest danger, Drogba wont be there for long and Roman wont splash the cash. No brainer to go for Owen

Like for like as well.