Wednesday's gossip column: Football transfers & rumours
- From the section Football
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For a list of confirmed transfers, check out our transfers page.
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TRANSFER GOSSIP
Liverpool's American owner John W Henry has told the club's supporters in Norway that striker Luis Suarez, 26, will not be sold.
However, Suarez has not given up hope on moving to Real Madrid, raising the prospect of Arsenal missing out on their prime transfer target.
Full story: London Evening Standard
Manchester United manager David Moyes has launched a bid for 25-year-old Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini - signalling the end of the club's pursuit of Barcelona playmaker Cesc Fabregas, 26.
United's England international striker Wayne Rooney, 27, will seek a move abroad if a deal to join Chelsea cannot be finalised.
Everton face competition from Fiorentina in their bid to sign Hellas Verona midfielder Jorginho, 21.
Tottenham director Sir Keith Mills says the club are almost powerless to keep Gareth Bale, 24, if he wants to move to Real Madrid, even though he signed a new four-year contract only last summer.
Full story: London Evening Standard
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And the removal of Wales international Bale from Tottenham's official Twitter account page has further intensified speculation over his future.
Real Betis winger Alvaro Vadillo, 18, is the latest name on Tottenham's list of possible replacements for Bale.
Barcelona are planning a £35m bid for Chelsea's Brazil international David Luiz.
Leeds United's Ross McCormack is the subject of a bid from Middlesbrough, with Blackpool also interested in the 26-year-old striker.
OTHER GOSSIP
Luis Suarez has told Liverpool he does not want to play in any pre-season friendlies for Liverpool until his future is resolved.
Real Madrid and Barcelona could soon be forced by the European Commission to relinquish their privileged status as member-owned clubs and are likely to become publically listed companies, losing one of the key advantages behind their dominance of Spanish football and success in European competition.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has refused to answer questions about the club's ongoing pursuit of Gareth Bale for fear of further upsetting Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas.
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher is concerned by reports of Wayne Rooney leaving the club. "You do worry he might leave because he's a fantastic football player," the 29-year-old Scotsman said. "I hope he stays and we achieve more things together for United."
Full story: Manchester Evening News
QPR are chasing the signature of Estudiantes' Duvan Zapata after West Ham pulled out of a deal to sign the 22-year-old Colombian striker because of work permit issues.
Tottenham could struggle to revive their bid for Vlad Chiriches. The 23-year-old Steaua Bucharest defender instead wants to move to Italy, says his agent.
GLOBAL GOSSIP (from BBC Monitoring)
AC Milan's Ghanaian midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, 26, has spoken of his hopes of returning to the Bundesliga.
Full story: Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian)
Bayern Munich have permitted Brazilian defender Luiz Gustavo, 26, to begin negotiations with fellow Bundesliga club Wolfsburg.
Full story: Kicker (in German)
Real Zaragoza are close to signing 22-year-old forward Roger Marti on a season-long loan deal from fellow Spanish side Levante.
Full story: Marca (In Spanish)
Wolves' Mali midfielder Tongo Doumbia, 24, will join French side Valenciennes on a season-long loan.
Full story: L'Equipe (in French)
AND FINALLY
The man who has played the part of Bradford City's mascot - the City Gent - for the last 20 years has quit the role because he was no longer considered portly enough.
Full story: Bradford Telegraph and Argus
New research suggests more than half of football fans think about the game at least once every minute.
Premier League new boys Crystal Palace have called in a hypnotist to help get them in the right frame of mind for their opening home game against Tottenham.
Every senior player in the Premier League and Football League will have to attend a session this season to receive guidance on not using racist and homophobic language.