Wednesday's gossip column - transfers and rumours
Last updated on .From the section Football
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United are increasing their efforts to sign Porto winger James Rodriguez, 20, after having a £30m bid rejected.
French winger Florent Malouda, 32, is likely to leave Chelsea after starting negotiations with Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.
Manchester City could move for Brazilian full-back Daniel Alves, 29, after he fell out with Barcelona officials by playing in a friendly without permission.Full story: Daily Star
Liverpool have not given up hope of winning the race to sign Gylfi Sigurdsson, 22, but will not bow to his wage demands to prevent him from signing for Tottenham.
Full story: The Times (subscription required)
Arsenal want to offload Denilson, Carlos Vela, Sebastien Squillaci, Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Park Chu-young and Johan Djourou in a attempt to cut the club's wage bill.
But the Gunners are resigned to losing Robin van Persie, 28, after completing the £13m signing of French striker Olivier Giroud from Marseille.
Branislav Ivanovic has told Tottenham's Luka Modric, 26, to join Chelsea instead of Manchester United or Real Madrid.
Arsenal have cooled their interest in Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila, 21, after he fell out with France coach Laurent Blanc.
Inter Milan are in talks to sign Manchester City's 27-year-old midfielder Nigel de Jong.
Brazil striker Alexandre Pato, 22, fancies a transfer to the Premier League when his AC Milan contract expires in 2014.
Stoke City are interested in signing Houston Dynamo's 26-year-old central defender Geoff Cameron.
EURO 2012
Fabio Capello has blamed Wayne Rooney, 26, for England's Euro 2012 exit by saying the striker only plays well for Manchester United.
Rio Ferdinand says he is baffled that his Manchester United team-mate Phil Jones, 20, did not get a kick for England at Euro 2012.
Italy's Andrea Pirlo, 33, says Germany will pose a far more dangerous threat in Thursday's semi-final than "cautious" England.
Mario Balotelli, 21, is the subject of a new racism row after a newspaper in Italy depicted him as King Kong ahead of Thursday's semi-final against Germany.
David Silva insists that Spain team-mate Andres Iniesta, 28, is better than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
OTHER GOSSIP
Tottenham want former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas to start work as their new boss next week.
But Didier Deschamps is a candidate to become manager at Tottenham after reports in France claimed he was looking to quit Marseille.Full story: Daily Star
Scott Parker, 31, may miss the start of the season amid fears the Tottenham midfielder may need surgery on his troublesome Achilles.
Former England striker Michael Owen, 32, is set for a lucrative move to United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab.
Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is in talks to take over at Sampdoria.
Norwich manager Chris Hughton is stepping up his efforts to keep striker Grant Holt, 31, after goalkeeper John Ruddy signed a new four-year contract.Full story: Independent
Nemanja Vidic will begin pre-season training with Manchester United this week - before the rest of his team-mates return to work on Monday.
AND FINALLY...
New Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has marked Germany's progress to the Euro 2012 semi-finals by releasing a pop single.
