TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester City want to sign strikers Vagner Love and Jo Alves and midfielder Daniel Carvalho - all three Brazilians play for CSKA Moscow. (Various)

Sunderland and Birmingham have joined the race to sign Aston Villa defender Gary Cahill. Bolton have already agreed a fee for the player. (Various)

Portsmouth's Senegal international midfielder Papa Bouba Diop is wanted by Spanish side Murcia. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle are set to pay £2m for Derby winger Giles Barnes. (Daily Mirror)

Blackburn are in talks with Chile captain Claudio Maldonado, who plays for Brazilian side Santos, over a £1m move. (Various)

Rangers boss Walter Smith wants Derby keeper Lewis Price in a swap deal with Roy Carroll. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle have ruled out a move for Tottenham defender Pascal Chimbonda. (Various)

John Arne Riise's agent insists the left-back will not be leaving Liverpool to join Newcastle. (Various)

Everton are sure defender Jolean Lescott will snub a move to Manchester United or Arsenal and sign a new long-term deal at Goodison. (The Sun)

Middlesbrough expect to sign Brazilian striker Afonso Alves. (Various)

Arsenal are watching Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko and may make a move for the 21-year-old. (Various)

Celtic are hoping to sign Manchester City's unsettled striker Georgios Samaras on a loan deal. (The Guardian)

Also on Celtic's wanted list is Burnley's Kyle Lafferty, and the Glasgow club has tabled a £3.12m bid for the striker. (Daily Record)

Norwich are ready to bid £850,000 for Scunthorpe's 11-goal forward Martin Paterson. (Various)

West Brom are desperate to offload striker John Hartson and will offer him a pay-off this week. (Daily Star)

But the Baggies are hoping to clinch deals for Livingston winger Graeme Dorrans and South Korea international midfielder Kim Do-Hean. (Daily Star)

Bristol City are set to make a £250,000 move for Coventry's 32-year-old striker Dele Adebola. (Daily Mirror)


OTHER GOSSIP
The Football Association is considering banning all players except captains from speaking to referees from next season in an attempt to crack down on dissent. (Various)

New England manager Fabio Capello is stalling on a decision whether to give David Beckham his 100th cap against Switzerland next week. Capello wants to pick players only on merit and has doubts over Beckham's fitness. (Various)

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack is considering retiring from the game when his contract runs out next year. (The Times)

Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra is on a collision course with the club after demanding a £120,000-a-week contract. Evra currently earns about £36,000 per week but wants parity with the club's top earners before he commits himself to a new deal. (Daily Mirror)

Terry Butcher and Steven Pressley will join Scotland's new coaching team within the next 48 hours. (Daily Record)

Ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is on the verge of taking over at Spanish side Valencia, who are in relegation trouble in La Liga. (The Sun)

Stewart Downing is refusing to have new contract talks with Middlesbrough after his potential move to Tottenham fell through. (Various)

AND FINALLY
Chelsea's superstar players were left star-struck themselves yesterday when Diego Maradona visited the club's training ground. The Argentine legend was in huge demand for photographs and autographs. (Various)

David Beckham is planning to open a football academy in Brazil. The former England captain already has academies in London and Los Angeles. (The Guardian)