Premier league gossip

27th Friday Jume 2008

Manchester City have agreed a £19m fee for CSKA Moscow's Brazilian striker Jo. (Sky Sports, 1650 BST)

Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb has told Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez to forget about signing Stewart Downing, saying: "We believe he is happy and settled here." (Daily Mail, 1540 BST)

Cardiff are close to completing a deal for Everton defender Darren Dennehy after City held talks with the Premier League club earlier this week. (Various, 1550 BST)

Everton boss David Moyes has insisted England striker Andrew Johnson is not for sale. (Everton club website, 1115 BST)

Johnson not for sale, says Moyes

Paul Robinson has revealed his desire to resurrect his career at Aston Villa according to sources close to the out-of-favour Tottenham goalkeeper. (Press Association 1001 BST)

Manchester United assistant boss Carlos Queiroz raised the prospect of winger Cristiano Ronaldo leaving by claiming contracts mean nothing in modern-day football. (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid are happy to be "passive spectators" and wait and see how things play out between the Portugal winger and United, according to the club's president Ramon Calderon. (The Guardian)

Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho will reject a move to Manchester City as the 28-year-old wants to stay at Barcelona. (Daily Mirror)

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate is ready to fight Liverpool to keep £12m England winger Stewart Downing. (Various)

Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has revealed the Blues are tracking Russia midfielder Yuri Zhirkov. (Daily Star)

Midfielder Claude Makelele is staying at Chelsea after agreeing a one-year extension that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2010. (Daily Star)

But the England winger reportedly had a meeting with manager Paul Ince on Thursday and told the former MK Dons boss that he wants Rovers to sell him. (The Independent)

Everton will reluctantly sell £10m-rated striker Andy Johnson in a bid to generate urgently-needed transfer funds. Sunderland, West Ham, Wigan, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Middlesbrough are interested in the 27-year-old. (Daily Mail)

Arsenal have made an approach for Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso, according to the Sporting Lisbon player's agent. (Various)

Liverpool have told Portsmouth that they need to change the fee structure of their £9m bid for Peter Crouch if they are to agree a deal for the England striker. (The Times)

Stoke boss Tony Pulis is keen to sign Celtic midfielder Thomas Gravesen, who will be allowed to leave the Glasgow club for free - but his wage demands may prove to be a stumbling block. (Daily Mirror)

Ajax have joined Tottenham and Portsmouth in trying to sign Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun by bidding £5m for the Israel midfielder. (Daily Mail)

Everton are set to launch a £2m raid on relegated Leicester for teenage left-back Joe Mattock. (Various)

Striker Kanu is refusing to sign a new one-year contract with Portsmouth as he insists they owe him a better deal. (The Sun)

West Ham have asked about taking Palermo striker Edison Cavani on loan. (The Times)

Croatia central defender Josip Simunic has told Fulham they must wait at least two weeks before he decides whether to join them. (Daily Express)

Stoke City are poised to make a bid for Rangers midfielder Lee McCulloch. (Daily Mail/The Sun)

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Rocastle could be given the chance to kick start his career at Kilmarnock. (Daily Express/Daily Star)



24th Tuesday June 2008

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is demanding £50m to secure the transfers of David Villa, Daniel Alves, David Silva and Gareth Barry. (The Mirror)

Jose Mourinho has cut short his summer holiday to personally take charge of Inter Milan's pursuit of Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard. (The Sun)

AC Milan are ready to call off their pursuit of Emmanuel Adebayor after Arsenal rejected the move. (The Star)

Arsenal could move for Valencia midfielder David Silva if as expected Alexander Hleb moves to Barcelona. (The Sun)

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has failed with a £9m bid for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch. (Daily Star)

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson is a £4m target for Newcastle. (Daily Mirror)

Spurs are targeting PSV Eindhoven keeper Heurelho Gomes who would cost around £10m. (Guardian)

Tottenham could also bid £9.6m for Brescia keeper Emiliano Viviano as they look to replace Paul Robinson. (The Times)

Also at White Hart Lane, winger Aaron Lennon may swap Tottenham for Newcastle. (The Guardian )

Spurs manager Juande Ramos will pay £8m for Seville winger Diego Capel. (The Independent)

Fulham could trade midfielder Jimmy Bullard for Middlesbrough defender Luke Young. (The Times)

Boss Roy Hodgson is also keen on bringing Liverpool defender Steve Finnan back to Craven Cottage. (The Times)

Newcastle's Shola Ameobi is expected to move to West Bromwich Albion for £2.5m. (The Times)

Aston Villa are keen on out-of-favour Everton striker Andy Johnson and are ready to table a £7m bid. (Daily Star)

Bolton manager Gary Megson is ready to smash the club's transfer record with the signing of Toulouse striker Johan Elmander. (The Sun)

Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun could be on his way out of Anfield, with Portsmouth keen on the Israeli. (The Sun)

Steve Sidwell is demanding a Chelsea pay-off before joining Aston Villa. (Daily Mirror)

Premier League new boys Stoke are lining up a bid of £2m for Morocco striker Bouchaib El-Moubarki. (Daily Mirror)

New Blackburn Rovers manager Paul Ince could raid his old club MK Dons to sign captain Keith Andrews. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa have had a £15m bid for David Bentley rejected by Blackburn Rovers. (Daily Mail)

Poland midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski has given Celtic the green light to fight it out with Everton and Fulham for his signature. (Various)


Cristiano Ronaldo will this week demand Manchester United sell him to Real Madrid - as a reward for his loyalty. (News of the World).

A source close to the player says that he does not want to leave United under a cloud. (News of the World)

Real have told the winger that he should attempt to force United into selling him or to formally demand a transfer. (Sunday Telegraph)

Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, stands to earn an astonishing £10m if he can engineer a world record £70m move to Real. (The Mail on Sunday)

Manchester United may risk losing Carlos Tevez unless they offer him a new deal before the end of the year. (News of the World)

Dutch forward Rafael van der Vaart will trigger a £15m scrap for his services between Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. (News of the World)

Arsene Wenger will authorise the £25m sale of Emmanuel Adebayor later this month - while seeking to buy Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn. (The Mail on Sunday)

Manchester City and Everton head the race to sign £8m-rated Dejan Stankovic from Inter Milan. (Various)

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan is preparing a £6m swoop for Tottenham's out-of-favour winger Aaron Lennon. (News of the World)

The Magpies boss will also fight it out with rivals Sunderland for the £10m transfer of Celtic's Aiden McGeady. (News of the World)

Everton and Newcastle are still in the hunt for Orlando Engelaar, the Dutch international midfielder. (Sunday Times)

Milan Baros tops Bolton's wanted list, with the Trotters set to spend £4.5m on Lyon's Czech striker. (News of the World)

Tottenham are stepping up their interest in Real Zaragoza's £10m-rated striker Diego Milito. (The Observer)

Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are interested in Spurs keeper Paul Robinson. (The Observer)

Hull City are ready to challenge Cardiff for Rangers hitman Kris Boyd with a £3m bid for the Scotland international. (News of the World)

Celtic have put Chelsea's Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz at the top of their summer shopping list. (News of the World)

Stoke City will this week launch a renewed £1.5m bid to try and lure Lee McCulloch from Rangers. (News of the World)

Arsenal are poised to offer £10m for Zenit St Petersburg's wantaway star Andrei Arshavin. (The People)