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Friday’s gossip column: Football transfers & rumours
For a list of confirmed transfers, check out our transfers page.
For breaking transfer news, follow Sportsday Live every weekday.
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Tottenham are to offer Aston Villa the choice of Benoit Assou-Ekotto, 29, Scott Parker, 32, Jake Livermore, 23, or Tom Huddlestone, 26, along with £20m in exchange for their 22-year-old Belgium international striker Christian Benteke.
Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner has not played for Arsenal since August 2011
Arsenal could be stuck with Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, 25, as his prospective switch to Eintracht Frankfurt is close to collapse.
Arsenal are set to up their £30m bid for Liverpool’s Uruguay international striker Luis Suarez, 26, as their attempts to buy Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, 25, falter.
Full story: London Evening StandardÂ
Manchester City have suffered a setback in their quest to sign Alvaro Negredo, 27, after the Spanish striker claimed he was happy to stay at Sevilla.
Fulham are considering a move for Liverpool’s Uruguay international defender Sebastian Coates, with Brendan Rodgers prepared to sell the 22-year-old after he failed to make an impact in two years at Anfield.
Reds boss Rodgers says he is now targeting ‘marquee signings’ having already added four new players to his Liverpool squad.
Promising 17-year-old left back Luke Shaw is set to reject offers from Manchester United and Chelsea and sign a new contract with Southampton.
Napoli striker Edinson Cavani, 26, is on the verge of a £54m move to Paris St-Germain.
Trabzonspor have joined Turkish rivals Galatasaray in the race for Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, 26.
OTHER GOSSIP
England coach Gary Neville believes English football has reached a “tipping point”, with youth academies at the Premier League’s elite clubs flooded by foreign recruits and short-term demands effectively blocking the progress of local talent.
Gary Neville believes young English talent is effectively blocked from reaching first teams
Meanwhile, former Manchester United defender Neville is confident Wayne Rooney, 27, will not only stay at Old Trafford but will have the full backing of the club’s supporters as soon as he starts playing again.
The Football Association is to crack down on horror tackles that went unpunished by referees last season because of a loophole in its own rulebook.
Manchester City will table plans to expand capacity at both sides of their Etihad Stadium, giving them the potential to reach a 60,000 capacity.
Three Belize players claimed they were approached to throw their Concacaf Gold Cup group match opener against the United States in Portland on Tuesday. They lost the game 6-1.
AND FINALLY
Chelsea’s online shop in the United States has scored a spectacular own goal this week by stocking a $16 Arsenal onesie in its collection of official Blues gear.
