Wednesday’s gossip column
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Liverpool and Manchester United are set to miss out on Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, 21, as he nears a £10m move to Borussia Dortmund.
Former Newcastle and Blackburn keeper Given made only nine appearances this season
Hull could move for 37-year-old Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given, who is available for £1m.
Real Madrid are ready to make Cristiano Ronaldo, 28, the best-paid player in the world in order to keep him away from a return to Manchester United.
Crystal Palace and West Ham are vying to sign Barcelona defender Marc Bartra, 22, on loan.
Real Madrid are confident they will win the battle for winger Gareth Bale, 23, and have set a 15 June deadline for the deal to be done with Tottenham.
Chelsea are ready to go head-to-head with Arsenal for Fiorentina’s £25m-rated striker Stefan Jovetic, 23.
Carlos Tevez, 29, is waiting to discover if Manchester City will offer him a new deal, with his current contract expiring next summer.
Tottenham are looking at a new £30m strikeforce of Barcelona’s David Villa, 31, and Internacional’s Leandro Damiao, 23, to fire them into the top four.
OTHER GOSSIP
Jose Mourinho will retain first-team coach Steve Holland and goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon when he makes his expected return to Chelsea next week.
Jose Mourinho looks set to keep on some of Chelsea’s coaching staff when he takes over
Full story: The Times (subscription required)Â
Roberto Martinez is ready to take over as manager of Everton and wants to bring in some of the players that helped Wigan win the FA Cup with him.
Mark Hughes is likely to be appointed Stoke City’s manager within 48 hours and will be assured of funds to spend, though his budget will be vastly reduced compared to former club QPR.
Owen Coyle and Stuart Pearce are among the contenders to replace Roberto Martinez at Wigan after the Spaniard declared his intention to leave the Latics.
Tottenham defender Kyle Naughton and Norwich counterpart Sebastien Bassong have both posted pictures of themselves on the internet posing with guns.
Crystal Palace will have to spend several million pounds to refurbish their stadium and upgrade the media facilities following their return to the Premier League.
Full story: The Times (subscription required)Â
Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, 22, has refused to be drawn on rumours that Manchester United are considering a summer move for his services.
GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)
Manchester City are interested in Galatasaray’s Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo, 29, according to the player’s agent.
Galatasaray midfielder Felipe Melo has been capped 22 times by Brazil
Full story: turkishfootball.comÂ
Roma general manager Franco Baldini has travelled to London to meet club president James Pallotta amid rumours of his departure from the Italian club. Tottenham are said to be interested in appointing former England assistant Baldini as their new director of football.
AND FINALLY
Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini sent gloating text messages about opening champagne following the club’s play-off defeat by Crystal Palace.
Statues of former Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez have been made in the Italian city of Naples following his appointment as manager of Napoli.
