Paper Talk
Adel Taarabt has hit back at Harry Redknapp's claim that he's three stone overweight and told the QPR boss to stop trying to turn fans against him.
Louis van Gaal insists Manchester United can still win the league despite more dropped points at West Brom on Monday night.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers wants to manage in Spain one day.
Adel Taarabt has hit back at Harry Redknapp after the QPR boss accused him of being three stone overweight.
Jose Mourinho says Roy Hodgson is the only international manager who bothers to call him over Chelsea players.
Fernandinho has warned Manchester City to stay alert in CSKA Moscow's empty stadium.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reckons Liverpool supporters will make a big mistake if they boo former Manchester United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo in Wednesday's Champions League tie.
Birmingham will approach former manager Chris Hughton to replace Lee Clark, who was sacked on Monday.
Manchester United are plotting a £20million move to bring Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford.
Rio Ferdinand could be offloaded by QPR in January after just six months at the club.
QPR could turn to Porto's Rolando and West Ham's Winston Reid as possible replacements.
Liverpool will compete with several Spanish sides for the signature of Porto teenager Ruben Neves.
Chelsea scouts have again watched Marseille midfielder Giannelli Imbula.
Martin Skrtel knows Liverpool's defending must improve against Real Madrid's formidable forward line.
Manchester United will offer Sami Khedira a £5.5million-a-year contract to beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the queue.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all turned down the chance to sign Raheem Sterling before he joined Liverpool in 2012.
Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett is the man most likely to take the vacant Birmingham City manager's post after Lee Clark was sacked.
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester United are planning a £20m move to bring Barcelona defender Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford. The 27-year-old moved to the Nou Camp in 2008. (Daily Star)
United will offer Real Madrid's 27-year-old anchorman Sami Khedira a contract worth £5.5m a year to try and beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the queue. (Daily Express)
AC Milan are also interested in Germany international Khedira, while the Italian side could also make a move for 20-year-old Liverpool midfielder Suso. (Daily Mail)
Defender Rio Ferdinand could be offloaded by QPR in January after six months at Loftus Road. The former England captain, who turns 36 in November, could be replaced by Porto's Rolando, 29, or West Ham's 26-year-old Winston Reid. (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool will compete with Juventus and several Spanish sides for the signature of Porto's 17-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves. (Daily Mirror)
Bayern Munich are to step up their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund's 25-year-old forward Marco Reus, who is also a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. (Daily Star)
Leeds are pondering a loan move for Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic, 26, who has fallen out of favour at Fiorentina. (Tuttomercatoweb)
Former Real Madrid striker Raul, whose last club was Qatari side Al-Saad, is set to sign a deal with North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos. The 37-year-old will also have a role at the club's academy. (ESPN FC)
OTHER GOSSIP
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he would like to manage in Spain one day as he prepares to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. (AS)
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Rodgers should drop striker Mario Balotelli for the Champions League group game on Wedensday and play Raheem Sterling up front instead. (Daily Mail)
Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett is the man most likely to fill the vacant Birmingham City manager's post after Lee Clark was sacked on Monday. (Times - subscription required)
But the Blues are also keen on former Newcastle and Norwich boss Chris Hughton, although the 55-year-old is awaiting a decision on whether he is wanted by fellow Championship side Fulham. (Sun - subscription required)
Getting the Olympic Stadium ready for West Ham to use could cost the taxpayer up to £50m more than expected. (Daily Telegraph)
Tottenham playmaker Erik Lamela, 22, believes that Spurs can secure a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for next season's Champions League despite their 4-1 weekend defeat by champions Manchester City. (Evening Standard)
CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa, 22, has pinpointed Manchester City's "very weak" defence before the teams' meeting in the Russian capital on Tuesday. (Manchester Evening News)
Sunderland winger Will Buckley, 24, denies his side gave up during Saturday's 8-0 thrashing away to Southampton. (Evening Chronicle)
GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)
Barcelona's 31 year-old Brazilian defender Dani Alves could be on his way to England to play for Manchester United next season. (L'Equipe - in French)
Real Madrid are looking at Bayern Munich's David Alaba, 22, as a possible replacement for defender Marcelo Vieira if the 26-year-old Brazilian defender decides to leave the club in 2015. (Bild - in German)
Chelsea have hired promising 13-year-old French goalkeeper Nicolas Tie from FC Poitiers. (Le Figaro - in French)
Real Madrid are considering a £22m move for Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj, 19. (AS.com - in Spanish)
Chile international Arturo Vidal has clarified that his relationship with Juventus is very good after reports suggested that the 27-year-old midfielder was fined by the Italian club. (Tuttosport)
Brazilian striker Adriano, 32, is on the verge of signing a deal with French Club Le Havre. (L'Equipe)
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, 21, and striker Karim Benzema, 26, have returned to training ahead of the club's encounter against Liverpool on Tuesday. (AS.com)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
West Brom tweeted at half-time during their game against Manchester United on Monday: "Fellaini has now taken his tracksuit off, fortunately he has a Man Utd strip on underneath."
United reserve goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard was one of those to take offence at West Brom's tweet, saying it showed "a complete lack of knowledge, class and respect."
Albion responded: "Sorry if a joke about a footballer not having a shirt on under his tracksuit top has caused such outrage. It was not intended as a slur."
Fellaini did his talking on the pitch, scoring a superb equaliser just a few minutes after his arrival into the action.
AND FINALLY
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all turned down the chance to sign Raheem Sterling, 19, before the winger joined Liverpool from QPR for an initial £500,000 in 2012. (Daily Express)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Jacob Steinberg
Budding author #rioferdinand could be soon be spending more time on his novels as it emerges that he could be on his way out of Queens Park Rangers six months after joining the west London club, news that will no doubt be greeted with glee by the literary world, where they are chomping at the bit to see what this new Franzen, this heir to Mantel, comes up with next.
Or maybe he could just go back to Manchester United. They need a defender but for some reason they are looking at Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué, who gave up on defending in 2011 in favour of doing cool passes and strolling around the pitch without a care in the world instead. Fair play to the lad, but is it what United need? Has Piqué even had the foresight to write a book and make the title a hashtag? Exactly. Case closed. Rio back to United. The Mill has spoken.
United are also after a midfielder and are hoping to nab Sami Khedira from under the noses of Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan. Not that Chelsea actually want Khedira any more. They’ve moved on. They’re all about Marseille’s Giannelli Imbula now.
Milan – remember them? – are keeping tabs on Liverpool’s Suso, whose contract runs out at the end of the season. Not to worry, though. Liverpool want Porto’s 17-year-old midfielder Rúben Neves, but they face competition from Juventus. Apparently he’s one of those prodigies. You can probably find out on YouTube.
Birmingham City are going to replace Lee Clark with Burton Albion’s Gary Rowett.
And finally, Raúl could be off to the 1970s to play for New York Cosmos.
Talksport
West Ham join Arsenal in chase for Celtic star
West Ham have entered the running to sign Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk.
The former Holland Under-21 international has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal when the transfer window re-opens in January as Arsene Wenger looks to ease his defensive problems.
Arsenal came close to signing him on transfer deadline day during the summer but the move never materialised.
Van Dijk has been one of the star performers for the Scottish champions and has also attracted interest from a number of clubs across Europe.
But West Ham are also monitoring his progress and Sam Allardyce is keen to add another centre-half to his squad as speculation continues to surround the long-term future of Winston Reid, who is out of contract next summer.
The two London clubs could be set for a bidding war in the New Year with Celtic reported to want at least £7m for Van Dijk's signature.
African Football
Diafra Sakho blasts Senegal boss Alain Giresse
by Stephane DeSaintsalvy
West Ham United’s striker Diafra Sakho has hit out at Senegal coach Alain Giresse for ignoring him.
Sakho, who has scored six goals in as many games for the Hammers this season, has not been called up with the Teranga Lions for the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 qualifiers so far after making his international debut in a friendly against Kosovo last May.
“When I signed for West Ham, he phoned me and said that as I was changing club he will wait and see how it goes. But when I started scoring goal after goal and many people in Senegal asked for my call-up, I didn’t hear from him,” the 24-year old told L’Equipe.
“It is a lack of courage,” he added.
However, Giresse took to the same media to stress that “there is a lot of competition for attacking spots in our team. There are more experienced players like Demba Ba, Papiss Cissé, Moussa Sow. Diafra is new to the top level. He is having a good start at West Ham and I will continue to monitor him.”
C&H
Gunners star unlikely to sign long term deal
West Ham are unlikely to be able to make Carl Jenkinson’s stay at Upton Park permanent at the end of the season!
The on-loan Arsenal star produced his most impressive performance in a West Ham shirt at Burnley on Saturday and, with Aaron Cresswell, was singled out for special praise manager Sam Allardyce.
The club would love to believe that they can make the deal a permanent arrangement but ClaretandHugh has learned that this was one of the few loan deals in which there was no ‘to buy’ clause involved.
On asking the question about a permanent deal earlier this evening we were told: “Sadly, there’s no option to buy and we believe Arsenal will want him back.
“We will have a go but he’s a top young player and it would be a surprise if we could do a deal although much could depend on Arsenal’s injury position.
“As an England under 21 international he has a big future ahead of him and he is one we would like to get but it’s very much odds against as things stand.”
C&H
West Ham's owners and Winston Reid's advisers will meet again this week in a bid to end the deadlock over a new contract.
ClaretandHugh has learned this morning that contact has been made between the two sides and that talks are set to start over the next 72 hours.
A source revealed to us exclusively: "We are in contact and talks will be re-started later in the week. It's important that both sides know exactly where they are with each other.
"We remain very keen to re-sign Winston and it's realistic to expect that we could be offering some improvements to what's on the table.
"These are tough negotiations and we will be will doing the very best we can to get this sorted and find a way through the situation to suit everybody but it's good we are to start talking again."
The player has been linked with Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and Spurs but the Hammers remain hopeful of getting a deal in place.
