Thursday's gossip

[paddy 17]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering sending Theo Walcott, who cost the club £12m as a 16-year-old, out on loan as the forward's struggles at the Emirates continue. (The Sun, Daily Mail)

 

Tottenham are set to complete the signing of Juventus midfielder Tiago Mendes this week, with Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing and Rangers right-back Alan Hutton to follow. (Daily Mail)

 

Manchester City have targeted Sevilla's £9m-rated Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano after failing to land Bayern Munich frontman Lucas Podolski (Daily Mail)

 

Although City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson could look to Real Zaragoza frontman Diego Milito instead. (The Times)

 

Wigan hope to beat Fulham to the signing of Watford striker Marlon King with talks between the player and the London club continuing to stall. (Daily Mail)

 

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan hopes to make Middlesbrough centre-half Jonathan Woodgate his first signing, warding off interest from Tottenham in the process. (Various)

 

Keegan is also keen on Dynamo Zagreb's £15m-rated Croatia international midfielder Luka Modric. (The Sun)

As well as Lazio forward Goran Pandev, who claims Newcastle have launched a bid for him. (The Times)

While Boro boss Gareth Southgate could use the money received for Woodgate to launch a £13m bid to sign AZ Alkmaar striker Afonso Alves. (The Sun, The Times)

 

Middlesbrough are also interested in out-of-favour Tottenham keeper Paul Robinson, with Blackburn Rovers and Everton also keeping tabs on the player. (The Times)

 

Sunderland have made a third and final offer of £5m for Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt. (The Times)

 

Leicester manager Ian Holloway has been told he must pay £2m if he is to sign David Norris from former club Plymouth. (Daily Star)

 

Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd wants to sign Fulham striker Collins John on loan for the rest of the season. (Guardian)

 

Bristol City hope to complete the £750,000 signing of Celtic striker Derek Riordan in the next 24 hours. (Guardian)

 

West Brom and Watford are battling it out to sign Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Glenn Whelan. (Daily Star)

 

QPR will make a bid for out-of-favour Aston Villa keeper Thomas Sorensen after shelving plans to sign Dutchman Stefan Postma. (Various)

 

Leeds' offer of £250,000 for forward Jason Puncheon has been turned down by Barnet. (The Times)

 

 

OTHER GOSSIP

Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov has pledged to stay at the club until at least the summer, claiming their victory over Arsenal on Tuesday proved they can break into the Premier League's "Big Four". (Various)

 

Wigan manager Steve Bruce will hold "heart-to-heart" talks with error-prone defender Titus Bramble before deciding whether to risk him in Saturday's FA Cup tie at Chelsea. (The Sun, The Times)

 

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan is pressing ahead with plans to play Joey Barton in Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round match against Arsenal, even though the midfielder has to be back at Champneys Health Spa in Hampshire - where he is receiving help for problems with alcohol - before 1900 GMT. (Daily Star)

 

Southampton fans would welcome Glenn Hoddle back to the club as manager, as long as he apologises for quitting the Saints for Tottenham in 2001. (Daily Star)

 

However, Southampton could opt instead for former Fulham and Real Sociedad manager Chris Coleman instead, with George Burley set to take over as the new Scotland boss. (Daily Mail)

 

 

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AND FINALLY

Tottenham sporting director Damien Comolli has apologised to Arsene Wenger after the Arsenal manager was sprayed with champagne by Spurs players during his post-match interviews following Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final.

 

Assistant Spurs manager Gus Poyet is believed to have been the intended target for Jermain Defoe and two other players. (Various)

 

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Liverpool's owners of lacking "class" in revealing they approached Jurgen Klinsmann over succeeding Rafael Benitez as manager at Anfield. (Various)

 

And the Scot believes the situation will not only impede the Reds' hopes of making new signings, but has already cost them the title this season. (Various)

 

Thomas Bendtner, father and agent to Arsenal striker Nicklas, has hit out at Emmanuel Adebayor following the Togo striker's clash with his son against Spurs on Tuesday, saying: "It's sad that he doesn't take his head with him onto the field." (Various)

 

Penalty kings Bristol Rovers have offered to share their spot-kick expertise with the country after dispatching Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient and Fulham in shoot-outs this season. (Daily Express)

[Offshore Toon 0]

Woodgate, Modric and Pandev would be quite a haul. We can only hope.

[@yourservice 67]

Would rather go for Modric first out of that lot

 

 

 

[Jimbo 175]

agreed, Modric would be a great signing.

[@yourservice 67]

It's been a bit quiet today on the rumour mill like was expecting at least 4 or 5 names different to the above?

[Ken 119]

I'd bee happy with Pandev and Modric. Both offer skill and both play in postions we clearly lack in at the moment. If we got Modric in especially, than that would be a massive gain as he's been linked with many top clubs. Can't see it happening but with Keegan anything can happen.

 

Woodgate I'm not terribly excited by, but if we got rid of the donkey in exchange for Woodgate and a bit of cash, then that would be pretty good.