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Paper Talk
Reports claim Chelsea are preparing a stunning £48m bid for Liverpool and England star Raheem Sterling.
Inter Milan want to sign out-of-favour Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado - but would not be able to match his reported £60,000-a-week wages.
Inter Milan are hoping to sign Spurs striker Roberto Soldado in January, and Schalke frontman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could replace him for just £3m.
West Brom have been given the green light to sign Porto defender Rolando, who has been made available for around £1m after being frozen out of first-team plans.
Bournemouth are set to sign Southampton striker Sam Gallagher on loan.
Roy Keane has laid into Jose Mourinho after the Portuguese tried to shake hands with him and Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert before the end of Chelsea's 3-0 win a fortnight ago.
The Football League will consider introducing the Rooney Rule to ensure BAME candidates are interviewed for every managerial vacancy.
Keeper Joe Hart won the official man of the match award after England's 5-0 win over San Marino - despite not having a save to make.
Juventus and Roma are battling to sign Manchester City defender Matija Nastastic.
Ross Barkley is set to return to training with Everton next week to bolster Roberto Martinez's injury-hit squad.
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is reportedly set to take over at Bolton having turned down offers to manage in the Middle East.
Arsenal could lose their Champions League seeding next season as UEFA ponder a shake-up of the process.
Manchester United's massive debt will be on the agenda when UEFA meet to talk about a clampdown on Financial Fair Play.
Striker Jozy Altidore is ready to quit Sunderland in January.
Mark Robins has joined the race to replace Russell Wilcox as Scunthorpe United boss.
Leyton Orient will have to pay Rotherham £350,000 if they want to make Steve Evans their next manager.
Gareth Southgate has urged Wolves fans not to boo West Brom's Saido Berahino when he turns out for England Under-21s against Croatia at Molineux tonight.
A Dutch language teacher says 'there is nothing good' about the standard of English Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal uses - Bram van Welie uses videos of the United manager to show students how not to pronounce words.
Liverpool have started negotiations with former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, 32, who is now a free agent.
Manchester United have received a boost in their bid to tempt midfielder Arturo Vidal to Old Trafford, with the 27-year-old set to hold talks with Juventus bosses who are unhappy with his recent behaviour.
Southend boss Phil Brown is set to sign a new deal amid interest from his former club Bolton.
Fulham defender Fernando Amorebieta faces a month out with a knee injury.
Manchester United are ready to give defender Tyler Blackett a new deal that could increase his wage 25-fold.
PFA chief Gordon Taylor says Ched Evans should be allowed to play football again when he is released from prison. The striker was jailed for five years for rape in 2012 but is due to be released later this month.
Aston Villa assistant boss Roy Keane says Jose Mourinho is a "disgrace" and the Chelsea manager was lucky he did not punch him when he attempted to shake his hand before the end of Villa's 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last month.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter wants a rethink on the away goals rule.
Rangers fans want the Scottish FA to block Newcastle owner Mike Ashley's power grab at Ibrox.
Hibs defender Jordon Forster insists there will be no bad blood between him and Kris Boyd after the Rangers player dodged a ban for an alleged headbutt.
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Chelsea have been linked with a surprise £48m move for Liverpool's 19-year-old England midfielder Raheem Sterling. (Daily Express)
Liverpool have started negotiations with former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes over a move to the Premier League. The 32-year-old is currently a free agent. (Daily Star)
Inter Milan are interested in signing Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado, 29, but would not be able to match his reported £60,000-a-week wages at White Hart Lane. (Daily Express)
Meanwhile, Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 31, could join Tottenham for just £3m in January if Soldado moves. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United have received a boost in their bid to tempt midfielder Arturo Vidal to Old Trafford, with the 27-year-old set to hold talks with Juventus bosses who are unhappy with his recent behaviour. (Daily Star)
Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry, 37, could leave New York Red Bulls and return to Europe. (Talksport)
West Brom are set to secure the signing of Porto defender Rolando, 29, for £1m in January after the Portugese club froze him out of selection. (Daily Mirror)
OTHER GOSSIP
Aston Villa assistant boss Roy Keane says Jose Mourinho is a "disgrace" and the Chelsea manager was lucky he did not punch him when he attempted to shake his hand before the end of Villa's 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge last month. (Daily Telegraph)
Manchester United midfielder Daley Blind, 24, says he has a long way to go before he earns the right to be considered Roy Keane's successor. (Manchester Evening News)
Meanwhile, United are set to offer defender Tyler Blackett, 20, an improved contract which would increase his wages from £2,000 to £50,000 a week. (Daily Mail)
Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has angrily demanded football be banned in Qatar in the summer, warning people may have to "drop dead" before Fifa does anything to act. (Daily Telegraph)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Mesut Ozil's scan on a knee complaint presented the club with 'bad news' after the 25-year-old Germany midfielder returned early from international duty. (London Evening Standard)
Wenger may have to play left-back Nacho Monreal, 28, out of position at centre-back and 19-year-old Hector Bellerin at right-back in Arsenal's next Premier League match after the club's injury problems worsened. (The Times - subscription required)
England under-21s manager Gareth Southgate has called on the crowd at Molineux, home of Wolves, not to boo striker Saido Berahino, who plays his club football for rivals West Brom, as he leads the line in their Euro 2015 playoff against Croatia. (The Sun - subscription required)
Rangers fans have written to the Scottish Football Association to demand they block Newcastle chairman Mike Ashley's attempts to increase his stake at Ibrox. (Daily Record)
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon is reportedly set to take over at Bolton having turned down offers to manage in the Middle East. (The Sun - subscription required)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Arsenal striker Lukas Podoloski is perhaps getting a little too involved in his profession, after posting this picture and message on Instagram: "We can't keep our eyes off each other - It was love at the first sight and we're still in love... ;)"
Andros Townsend scored his first England goal in almost a year as England beat San Marino 5-0 on Thursday, and he tweeted: "Always a massive honour to represent my country! And delighted to get on the scoresheet regardless of who we played!"
Arsenal defender Calum Chambers was equally delighted with his first senior appearance at Wembley and tweeted: "Happy to have made my first England start and to come away with a win! Great support from the England fans tonight!"
AND FINALLY
England fans showed their humorous side by voting goalkeeper Joe Hart man of the match after the 5-0 win against San Marino. (Metro)
Sol Campbell has admitted he is prepared "to have a conversation" with the Conservative party about entering into a career in politics. (The Times - subscription required)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Conrad Leach
The great Manchester City clear-out begins here. Or in January, to be precise. Matija Nastasic can’t get a game for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, as the hefty figures of Vincent Kompany, Martín Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala are in the Serbia international’s way, so it could be back to Serie A for the centre-back. He is 21 and Juventus and Roma – not the dregs of the Earth by any standard – could be willing to pay £12m, which is what City paid for him. The defender has yet to feature in the Champions League this season, and would therefore not be cup-tied in the competition, which would be handy. . Actually, Nastasic, who signed for City from Fiorentina in 2012, might have the last laugh there, as Roma could reach the last 16 at City’s expense in Group E.
Another disgruntled player is Roberto Soldado, although it’s probably fair to say that Tottenham fans are also rather unhappy with the Spain forward, given that Daniel Levy forked out £26m of the Gareth Bale money last year for him. Spurs signed him from Valencia in the summer of last year and he has rewarded them with six goals in 29 appearances. Therefore, you could wonder why Internazionale are keen to buy the 29-year-old. The options at Appiano Gentile must be pretty thin on the ground. If Soldado goes to Serie A, one of Europe’s under-achievers could replace him. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 31, is in the last year of his contract at Schalke, and the Germans, now managed by Roberto di Matteo, want to grab £3m for the Dutch international, before he goes somewhere else for free next summer.
Over at Sunderland, Jozy Altidore wants away. The United States forward, 25 next month, has not started a game all season and is bored of getting splinters in his backside on the bench. Where is he going? That’s up to his agent to work out. His previous clubs include Xerez and Villarreal in Spain, New York Red Bulls, Bursaspor, and Hull City. Your guess is as good as ours.
West Brom are looking to Portugal to beef up their defence. Alan Irvine, the Baggies’ manager, are homing in on Rolando, who plays for Porto. Or used to, as the 29-year-old Portugal international has hardly featured this season. Galatasaray and Internazionale are also said to be hot on his heels.
And some good news for Tyler Blackett, 20, if he has not recovered from his red card last month against Leicester. The central defender, drafted in by Louis van Gaal this season, is to get a new deal at Manchester United. Currently earning £2,000 a week, that will rise steeply when he puts pen to paper. So that’s nice.
Meanwhile, out-of-work Neil Lennon could be the man to get Bolton out of their Dougie Freedman-sized hole. He is said to be considering taking charge, despite the alluring offer – and rather better weather – from Al-Ittihad, in Saudi Arabia.
Express
Winston Reid will snub Arsenal AND Man Utd to seal Liverpool move
WEST HAM star Winston Reid has his heart set on a move to Liverpool at the end of the season despite interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
By: Anthony Chapman
The New Zealand international is in the final year of his contract and looks set to leave Upton Park after joining in 2010 from Danish side Midtjylland.
Reid, who was named West Ham's Player of the Year in 2013, had been tipped to link up with Brendan Rodgers during the summer transfer window, but the Anfield boss instead made a move for Southampton centre-back Dejan Lovren.
However, there are question marks surrounding the futures of Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho, and Reid will be the man Rodgers turns to in order to ease his defensive crisis.
The 26-year-old is also wanted by both Arsene Wenger and Louis Van Gaal, but Reid is keen to ply his trade on Merseyside.
OS
Chadwell Chatter
West Ham United's in-form midfielder Stewart Downing on his new role, Sakho's goals and England
Hello everyone,
Writing this column during the international break has given me an opportunity to reflect on our great start to the season.
The break gives us time to get some of our injured players back fit. We've got over a week till our game away at Burnley, so we should have a strong squad available for that match.
In terms of our good form, it would have been nice to keep on playing, we've done well since the Southampton game. That was a very long two weeks afterwards and everyone was itching to play again. Similarly, everyone is looking forward to the next game with Burnley.
In pre-season we spoke about the importance of getting the season off to a good start and I think we've done that well.
Another positive is the effect the new players have had. They've all settled really quickly which has helped us a lot as last year we had a lot of injuries. The manager did very well to get them in early, and the benefits are clear to see out on the pitch.
With five goals in five games Diafra Sakho has deservedly taken the plaudits for his performances so far. Diafra is a very quick, powerful striker and he'll only get better as the season progresses.
I think the biggest positive is that every time we go forward we look like we're going to score. We have scored quite a few goals already and we need to continue that form. While Diafra has scored four of our twelve league goals, we've had eight different scorers so that's very pleasing.
As for my form, I'm feeling good at the moment and it's always nice to have your efforts acknowledged.
The system we're playing has helped a lot as it creates more options for me. Enner and Diafra both like to run a lot and their movement stretches defences, which helps me find the right passes. They know where the net is, so they can put it away.
I played a similar role at Middlesbrough when we played a 4-4-1-1 formation, however I think this system is even better as I have three lads in behind me. As a result I receive the ball a lot higher up the field.
I'm certainly enjoying my new position and it's something I spoke about when I signed here. The manager didn't have that luxury last year with the injuries we had to deal with. This season you can see the strength in depth, we can mix it up which has worked well for us. He's got options to change it when he needs it.
That was what was most pleasing about the QPR result. We had about seven or eight players out but still managed to field a strong eleven. I thought we played QPR off the park. Despite the injuries we didn't need to change the system too much. To get that continuity is a big plus for us.
As for the calls about an England call up, obviously I'd love to be involved again. It's the pinnacle of every player's career to represent their country so to have won 34 caps is something I'm very proud of.
Realistically I don't think I'll get picked at the moment. Roy Hodgson is going for younger players which is fair enough, that's his decision. All I can do is try my best, keep playing well and we'll see what happens from there.
Enjoy the break and see you soon!
COYI
Stewart
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