It's after lunch on a Thursday so it's technically the weekend.
Since everything gets a bit frantic in the last few days it might be easier to keep everything in here. Rumours, gossip, articles whatever.
There's only one rule - quote the source.
So today from the Guardian roundup:
Rumours and speculation may be this column's raison d'être, but it doesn't look like they're going to be invited around to the home Roberto Martínez for dinner any time soon. "I am not going to entertain any rumours or speculation," said the Everton manager by way of response to an Independent exclusive that his left-back Leighton Baines was agitating for a move to Manchester United. "At the moment I really feel for the game. We are concentrating on rumours too much. There is nothing to tell. If there is anything to tell, we will tell our fans straight away."
The Independent's story prompted howls of outrage from the blue half of Merseyside, with many people naively presuming that, because the story appeared without quotes from any of the parties involved, it couldn't possibly be true and was probably another part of the well documented London media conspiracy to unsettle their team. Tellingly, after his side's Capital One Cup win last night, Martínez praised the professionalism of Baines, but didn't actually state outright that the Independent's story was untrue.
Speaking of Baines, today's Mirror reveals that Manchester United have upped their double bid for him and Marouane Fellaini to £38m, which still seems a bit derisory by today's insanely high prices. A sizable chunk of any money Everton get for one or both players will immediately be used to prise James McCarthy away from Wigan before Tottenham or Newcastle turn the Republic of Ireland international's head.
Ambitious young media wannabes considering a career as a TV sports broadcaster might want to think again, unless the prospect of standing outside Tottenham Hotspur's deserted training ground yapping into a microphone and camera while nothing happens in the background is their idea of glamour. That was the lot of one poor Sky Sports News employee this morning, who may or may not have been addressing the story linking Manchester United striker Javier Hernández with a £15m move to north London (we had the sound turned down, so we don't know). It's difficult to imagine any Spurs fan being displeased with the prospective acquisition of such an effective goal-poacher.
From La Chicarito to Vlad Chiriches: the Steaua Bucharest central defender should be pitching up at the Spurs training ground some time soon, having arrived in London to finally complete his protracted £8.5m move. A deal for the 23-year-old was on the verge of going through in July, only for Steaua's controversial owner, Gigi Becali, to throw a spanner in the works from between the bars of the Bucharest prison cell in which he currently resides. "It was very hard after the first round of negotiations failed," said Chiriches, who is not afraid to show his emotions. "I even cried when I found out. It was very hard for two days."
Apparently unwanted Chelsea striker Demba Ba could be on his way back to Newcastle United less than seven months after his £7m switch from Tyneside to Stamford Bridge, while the Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has been walking around outside the Liberty Stadium telling random passers-by that the Getafe striker Alvaro Vázquez and the West Brom outcast Peter Odemwingie "fit the profile".
Today's super soaraway Sun claims that Manchester United will wait until Christmas to see if Cesc Fábregas is getting regular football with Barcelona, then make another bid for the Spain international midfielder if they find he's cooling his heels on the bench and might be dissatisfied with life at the Camp Nou.
Sunderland want the Senegal defender Cheikh M'Bengue but will have to duke it out with the French side Rennes in the fight to win his loyalty, while Arsenal fans are unlikely to be particularly excited that the 22-year-old St Etienne midfielder Josuha Guilavogui might end up at the Emirates if Arsenal fail to convince Newcastle to sell them industrial action's Yohan Cabaye.
The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reports that Samuel Eto'o will be photographed looking sullen while posing with a Chelsea shirt some time today, while its Scottish counterpart the Daily Record says Israel defender will finalise the £700,000 deal that will make him a Celtic player this afternoon.
And finally, with Ben Foster ruled out for three months with a foot injury, West Bromwich Albion are humming and hawing over whether or not to bring the Stoke reserve goalkeeper Jack Butland to the Hawthorns on loan. Stoke have also agreed a deal with Werder Bremen for the Germany striker Aaron Hunt and are waiting impatiently to see if the player himself fancies moving to the Potteries.
Since everything gets a bit frantic in the last few days it might be easier to keep everything in here. Rumours, gossip, articles whatever.
There's only one rule - quote the source.
So today from the Guardian roundup:
Rumours and speculation may be this column's raison d'être, but it doesn't look like they're going to be invited around to the home Roberto Martínez for dinner any time soon. "I am not going to entertain any rumours or speculation," said the Everton manager by way of response to an Independent exclusive that his left-back Leighton Baines was agitating for a move to Manchester United. "At the moment I really feel for the game. We are concentrating on rumours too much. There is nothing to tell. If there is anything to tell, we will tell our fans straight away."
The Independent's story prompted howls of outrage from the blue half of Merseyside, with many people naively presuming that, because the story appeared without quotes from any of the parties involved, it couldn't possibly be true and was probably another part of the well documented London media conspiracy to unsettle their team. Tellingly, after his side's Capital One Cup win last night, Martínez praised the professionalism of Baines, but didn't actually state outright that the Independent's story was untrue.
Speaking of Baines, today's Mirror reveals that Manchester United have upped their double bid for him and Marouane Fellaini to £38m, which still seems a bit derisory by today's insanely high prices. A sizable chunk of any money Everton get for one or both players will immediately be used to prise James McCarthy away from Wigan before Tottenham or Newcastle turn the Republic of Ireland international's head.
Ambitious young media wannabes considering a career as a TV sports broadcaster might want to think again, unless the prospect of standing outside Tottenham Hotspur's deserted training ground yapping into a microphone and camera while nothing happens in the background is their idea of glamour. That was the lot of one poor Sky Sports News employee this morning, who may or may not have been addressing the story linking Manchester United striker Javier Hernández with a £15m move to north London (we had the sound turned down, so we don't know). It's difficult to imagine any Spurs fan being displeased with the prospective acquisition of such an effective goal-poacher.
From La Chicarito to Vlad Chiriches: the Steaua Bucharest central defender should be pitching up at the Spurs training ground some time soon, having arrived in London to finally complete his protracted £8.5m move. A deal for the 23-year-old was on the verge of going through in July, only for Steaua's controversial owner, Gigi Becali, to throw a spanner in the works from between the bars of the Bucharest prison cell in which he currently resides. "It was very hard after the first round of negotiations failed," said Chiriches, who is not afraid to show his emotions. "I even cried when I found out. It was very hard for two days."
Apparently unwanted Chelsea striker Demba Ba could be on his way back to Newcastle United less than seven months after his £7m switch from Tyneside to Stamford Bridge, while the Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has been walking around outside the Liberty Stadium telling random passers-by that the Getafe striker Alvaro Vázquez and the West Brom outcast Peter Odemwingie "fit the profile".
Today's super soaraway Sun claims that Manchester United will wait until Christmas to see if Cesc Fábregas is getting regular football with Barcelona, then make another bid for the Spain international midfielder if they find he's cooling his heels on the bench and might be dissatisfied with life at the Camp Nou.
Sunderland want the Senegal defender Cheikh M'Bengue but will have to duke it out with the French side Rennes in the fight to win his loyalty, while Arsenal fans are unlikely to be particularly excited that the 22-year-old St Etienne midfielder Josuha Guilavogui might end up at the Emirates if Arsenal fail to convince Newcastle to sell them industrial action's Yohan Cabaye.
The Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reports that Samuel Eto'o will be photographed looking sullen while posing with a Chelsea shirt some time today, while its Scottish counterpart the Daily Record says Israel defender will finalise the £700,000 deal that will make him a Celtic player this afternoon.
And finally, with Ben Foster ruled out for three months with a foot injury, West Bromwich Albion are humming and hawing over whether or not to bring the Stoke reserve goalkeeper Jack Butland to the Hawthorns on loan. Stoke have also agreed a deal with Werder Bremen for the Germany striker Aaron Hunt and are waiting impatiently to see if the player himself fancies moving to the Potteries.
