Thursday's gossip column
Last updated on .From the section Football
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TRANSFER GOSSIP
Eliaquim Mangala, the 22-year-old £40m-rated Porto defender who has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester City in the summer has hired Jorge Mendes - the same agent used by Jose Mourinho.
Tottenham are set to offer 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder Paulinho a contract extension to fend off interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Spurs are considering a £15m January move for out-of-favour Paris St-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, 28.
Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini is ready to offer £13m for Manchester United's Portuguese winger Nani, 26, in January.
Meanwhile, Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 29, has been encouraged to leave the Turkish club for Chelsea by Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal.
Italian league leaders Roma are considering a move for Manchester City defender Micah Richards with the 24-year-old struggling to dislodge Pablo Zabaleta from City's right-back slot.
Radamel Falcao, who signed for Monaco for a reported £50m in May, has refused to rule out a move to Real Madrid. The 27-year-old Colombia international striker has thanked Real president Florentino Perez for his interest.
Former Tottenham defender Pascal Chimbonda, who was an unused substitute in the World Cup final in 2006, is training with League One Carlisle. The 34-year-old had previously been playing with non-League Market Drayton after leaving Doncaster.
GLOBAL GOSSIP (from BBC Monitoring)
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says there might be a number of sales in the January transfer window but midfielders Clement Grenier, 22, and Maxime Gonalons, 24, will not be amongst them.
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola is surprised by the speed with which his squad have adapted to his demands since taking charge at the Allianz Arena in June.
OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester United's 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj will choose England as his international team if the Football Association can overcome the obstacle of the five-year residency rule.
England's dream draw would pit them in a World Cup group alongside Switzerland who have secured seeding at the tournament after comfortably winning Group E.
England boss Roy Hodgson will consult with his cricketing counterpart Andy Flower to find out the best way to stave off boredom among his squad during the month-long World Cup. Warren Gatland, who led the British and Irish Lions in Australia this summer, can also expect a call.
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Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is a contender for the vacant Sheffield United manager's post after David Weir's sacking earlier this month.
Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa, 24, says he needs to play more after claiming his lack of club games made him feel out of shape for international duty with Japan.
West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison and Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha, both 20, have resolved their differences after clashing during England's under-21 win over Lithuania.
Argentine winger Erik Lamela, 21, says he fears for his World Cup place unless he plays more for new club Tottenham.
AND FINALLY
Traffic in Newcastle city centre was stopped in the early hours of Wednesday morning as students blocked the streets singing about Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, 30, and his brother, Liverpool defender Kolo, 32.
