Friday's gossip column
Last updated on .From the section Football
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TRANSFER GOSSIP
Skipper Thomas Vermaelen, 27, and 22-year-old keeper Wojciech Szczesny are facing the exit at Arsenal after manager Arsene Wenger loses patience with duo.
German club Wolfsburg are planning to launch a bid for Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker, 28.
Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 25, and 28-year-old left-back Leighton Baines will leave Goodison Park this summer as the Toffees look to shake things up following their FA Cup defeat by Wigan.
Arsenal's top summer target is £30m Malaga midfielder Isco, 20.
The Gunners are also preparing a summer bid for Southampton's Uruguayan forward Gaston Ramirez, 22.
Manchester United are set to re-ignite their interest in Shakhtar Donetsk's £20m-rated Brazilian Douglas Costa. The 22-year-old plays as an attacking midfielder.
Reading are eyeing a summer swoop for Palermo's 24-year-old Slovenia midfielder Jasmin Kurtic.
West Brom manager Steve Clarke tells fans to forget the idea of taking 19-year-old Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea again next season.
OTHER GOSSIP
Bradford boss Phil Parkinson, who led the League Two side to the League Cup final, has emerged as the favourite to land the Reading manager's job.
Manchester City left-back Gael Clichy says Manchester United can blow the title again even though they are 12-points clear.
Injured Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero takes to Twitter to tell fans he'll be back for the title run-in as he recovers in Argentina.
Chelsea have rocked their tired stars by arranging a trip to the United States days after the end of the season.
Arsene Wenger insists he has no intention of quitting as Arsenal manager before his contract expires at the end of next season.
GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is a contender for Roberto Mancini's job at Manchester City, according to El Pais. The Chilean has steered his Spanish club from near-relegation when he took over in 2010, to fourth in the league and the last eight of the Champions League this year.
Former Manchester United player Paul Pogba, 20, has received his first call up for the France squad for next week's World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Spain. The midfielder is enjoying a strong season with Italian league leaders Juventus.
Newly-elected Pope Francis is a supporter of Argentine side San Lorenzo whose fans are nicknamed "Saints". The club are currently 11th in the domestic league.
Full story: Frantfurter Allgemeine (German)
Juventus owner John Elkann has denied rumours of the possible return of Paris St-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimiovic, 31, to the Italian club.
Full story: Forza Italia (Italy)
AND FINALLY
It must be a slow news day in Turkey. A couple have made headlines after calling their newborn child Messi, full name Ali Umut Messi. Reports suggest the baby's father is a huge Barcelona and, obviously, Lionel Messi fan.
