Friday, March 6, 2009

Saturday's gossip column

Transfers Other gossip And finally

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Barcelona have cranked up the pressure on Arsenal by going public over their interest in £25m-rated Cesc Fabregas. (Sun)

Argentine side Banfield say they are waiting for Manchester United to follow up their interest in midfielder Nicolas Bertolo. (Daily Mail)

Birmingham City are ready to extend former Newcastle and Tottenham fullback Stephen Carr's contract until the rest of the season. (Daily Mail)

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to move for AZ Alkmaar's £5m-rated Belgian striker Moussa Dembele. (Daily Mirror)

Juventus could be poised to fork out £6m to end playmaker Deco's miserable spell at Chelsea. (Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

Angry Guus Hiddink has hauled both Ashley Cole and skipper John Terry over the coals for their alleged late-night drinking escapades (Daily Mirror)

David Beckham has won his battle to stay at Milan thanks to a unique "timeshare" agreement. (Independent)

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is nearing fitness after rupturing knee ligaments and is targeting a comeback in four weeks. (Sun)

Jose Mourinho has no plans to return to the Premier League because the Inter Milan boss wants to prove his critics wrong in Italy. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia insists he would have quit his position if the club had sold striker Kenwyne Jones to Tottenham. (Various)

Newcastle's Spanish striker Xisco wants to shake off his misfit tag by helping the club avoid relegation. (Daily Telegraph)

West Ham's vice-chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson insists a court case in Iceland over the future of the club's owner's stricken company will have no effect on the Hammers' status. (Guardian)

Questions about the decline in profile of the FA Cup are likely to get louder after new figures revealed average television audiences for the competition have dropped by more than a third. (Guardian)

Sir Alex Ferguson agrees with Arsene Wenger that Cristiano Ronaldo is "arrogant" - but has told Manchester United's star man to carry on tormenting opponents. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will have the protective boot taken off his injured foot in under two weeks. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham remain hopeful both Valon Behrami and Jack Collison have avoided serious damage after initial fears they could be out for up to nine months. (Daily Express)

Arsenal defender Gael Clichy maintains the club are right to keep faith in manager Arsene Wenger - and declared changing managers does not guarantee success. (Various)

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he will find it difficult to adjust when he is no longer involved in the game. "I am scared about thinking about retirement. I have been on the train for so long that when I get off it, I am scared my body will shut down," the 67-year-old said. (L'Equipe magazine)

AND FINALLY

Norwich players have paid for their own tickets to travel by air to their Championship relegation battle with Blackpool. (Daily Express)

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