BREAKING GOSSIP
Tottenham Hotspur forward Robbie Keane is set to complete an £18m transfer to Liverpool within the next 48 hours. (Daily Telegraph, 1555)

Andrei Arshavin's agent has insisted the Russian would be interested in leaving Zenit St Petersburg for Tottenham. (Daily Mail, 1150)

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has refused to rule out making offers for Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Chelsea's Didier Drogba. (Daily Mail, 1110)


Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp will step up his interest in Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips when Sulley Muntari's £12m move to Inter Milan goes through. (BBC Sport, 1100)


TRANSFER RUMOURS
Sunderland manager Roy Keane is to continue his ambitious summer recruitment plans by bidding up to £7m for Taye Ismaila Taiwo, the Marseille left-back who was named African young player of the year in 2006. (The Times)

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has told one of his closest pals - Portugal and Real Madrid centre-half Pepe - that he wants to join him and move to the Bernabeu. (The Sun)

Wigan's England striker Emile Heskey is a shock £6m target for wealthy Greek giants Panathinaikos and new boss Henk Ten Cate. (Daily Mirror)

606: DEBATE
A mate told me last week that Arshavin had signed for Barcelona. Quite clearly he was telling a porky. Where is the Russian ace going to end up?...

CW

Russian ace Andrei Arshavin risks pricing himself out of a dream move to England with wage demands of £100,000 a week, along with club Zenit St Petersburg's £16m price tag. (Daily Mirror)

Furious Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has told Liverpool to get on with their move for Gareth Barry or they will be barred from signing him. (Daily Mirror)

O'Neill has offered Barry a peace pact - along with a place in Villa's Intertoto Cup squad for the Odense match - and is ready to bury the hatchet after telling the England midfielder: "I want you to stay". (The Sun)

AS Monaco have denied a claim by Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp that they made a £12m bid for Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar. (The Times)

Liverpool's young Argentine winger Sebastian Leto is set to go on loan to Greek club Olympiakos for a season. (The Sun)

Stoke boss Tony Pulis is in talks with Nuremberg's Angelos Charisteas about a £3m move, although the Greek striker has already turned down Ipswich. (Daily Star)

Blackburn Rovers boss Paul Ince, having pulled out of a deal for £6m-rated Ecudorian midfielder Segundo Castillo, is still trying to land Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham have accepted a bid of around £3m from Blackburn Rovers for their goalkeeper Paul Robinson. (The Independent)

Newcastle's increasingly desperate hunt for a new central defender has caused them to look again at the Argentine international Fabricio Coloccini, a mainstay of the Deportivo La Coruna team. (The Independent)

Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell is desperate to re-sign Welsh international striker David Cotterill on loan from Wigan Athletic. (Sheffield Star)

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger faces a tough battle to prise away teenage forward Victor Moses from Crystal Palace, with the London club wanting three times the £1m he is prepared to offer. (The Sun)


Back to top

OTHER GOSSIP
Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins is set to miss the start of the season after his mother died in a blaze horror in Nigeria. (The Sun)

Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson, 20, has been offered a new deal by boss Mark Hughes after recently being linked with Liverpool, Everton and Spurs. (The Sun)

England defender Rio Ferdinand has flown home early from Manchester United's tour of South Africa for the birth of his second child after his fiancee Rebecca Ellison went into labour. (Daily Star)

Sir Alex Ferguson is the hot favourite to manage a Great Britain football team at the 2012 Olympics in London as the prospect of an entry grows. (Various)

Manchester United are considering offers to play in India next summer after being approached to become the first leading Premier League club to visit the world's emerging financial powerhouse. (Various)


Back to top

AND FINALLY
Newly promoted to the Premier League, West Bromwich Albion are scheduled to kick off the season without a shirt sponsor - although the club are in talks with several companies to replace former sponsor T-Mobile. Fans buying replica shirts have been promised that a sponsor's logo will be put on free of charge at a later date. (The Times)

Middlesbrough striker Mido reckons he is fitter than ever after forgoing a summer holiday in an effort to lose weight for the new season. (The Times)

Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic has denied that he left Everton only an hour after arriving for a trial last week. "I'm not a troublemaker," he said. (The Times)

England's Italian boss Fabio Capello will allow himself to be submerged into the culture of his adopted country after agreeing to sample a genuine English boozer as part of a new TV show hosted by Matt Lorenzo called 'Off the Bar' by Sky Sports. (Daily Express)

BREAKING GOSSIP
Inter Milan's chief executive Ernesto Paolillo says the Serie A club still hope to sign Frank Lampard from Chelsea this summer. (Press Association, 1118 BST)
Inter continue chase for Lampard



TRANSFER RUMOURS
Manchester United are set to break the British transfer record by paying £35m to seal a permanent deal for Carlos Tevez before the start of the new season. (The Independent, The Times)
Man Utd keen to seal Tevez deal

Or, United will pay £32m for the Argentine ace, whose loan spell at Old Trafford ends next summer. (The Sun, Daily Mail, The Guardian)

Chelsea will pay Real Madrid £35m for Robinho, who is 'desperate' to move to Stamford Bridge and has already agreed terms on a five-year deal with the Blues. (The Independent)

606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on today's gossip
Aston Villa have been given permission to speak to Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel but Manchester City have made a late enquiry about the American. (The Independent)

If City miss out on Friedel they will move for veteran Fulham shot-stopper Antti Niemi. (The Sun)

Everton will use the proceeds from the impending £10.5m sale of Andy Johnson to Fulham to fund a bid for Sporting Lisbon striker Joao Moutinho. (Daily Express)

The Toffees have already begun talks with Sporting over an £18m deal for Moutinho. (Daily Star)

Portsmouth have beaten Sunderland in the race to sign Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul. (The Sun)

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor is set to stay with the club despite continued interest from Barcelona. (Daily Express)

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez hopes to sign Tottenham striker Robbie Keane in time for him to face Rangers on 2 August. (The Sun)

Keane is due to arrive at Anfield next week for a medical before completing his £18m switch. (Daily Mail)

Liverpool will bid for Valencia winger David Silva if they fail to land Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry. (The Sun)

Real Madrid are preparing a £31.5m bid for Valencia striker David Villa but the player's agent says he would be interested in a move to Tottenham. (The Guardian)

Michael Owen has warned Newcastle he will leave on a free transfer at the end of the season unless they improve their contract offer. (The Guardian)

Birmingham are set to bid £2m for Crystal Palace midfielder Ben Watson. (The Sun)

Blackburn are lining up a £4m move for Fulham midfielder Steven Davis. (Daily Mail)

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp will use the £11m from the sale of Sulley Muntari to Inter to fund bids for Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips and Reading's Nicky Shorey. (The Guardian)

Rangers' hopes of signing Pedro Mendes from Portsmouth have been hit by Pompey's sale of Muntari. (Daily Record)

Fulham have bid £4m for Torino's Australian international midfielder Vincenzo Grella. (The Independent)




Back to top

OTHER GOSSIP
The Football Association are set to sanction a new rule that will mean only team captains will be permitted to talk to referees next season. (Daily Express)

The FA have moved to clarify comments by England coach Fabio Capello - who has a contract until 2012 - to stress he does not intend to quit after the 2010 World Cup. (Various)

Arsenal defender Kolo Toure has made a quicker than expected recovery from malaria and could return to light training next week. (The Sun)

Chelsea have dumped popular physio Dave Hancock despite an attempt by captain John Terry to keep him in his job. (Daily Mail)

Gabriel Tamas' agent says the defender's transfer from Auxerre to Celtic did not collapse because of the Romanian's wage demands. (Various)

Rangers are still unwilling to meet the valuation of Steven Davis despite Fulham lowering their demands for the midfielder. (The Scotsman)

Motherwell's failure to fund the loan signing of Celtic's John Kennedy has angered Fir Park boss Mark McGhee. (Daily Record)

Motherwell will step up their attempt to sign Celtic winger Jim O'Brien after he impressed on trial. (The Times)


Back to top

AND FINALLY
Manchester United will travel 3,000 miles to play Portsmouth in Nigeria less than 24 hours after playing Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa - so they can bank an extra £1.5m. (Various)

Chelsea players have complained of exhaustion and jet-lag on their globe-trotting pre-season tour. (The Sun)

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has told out-of-favour Thomas Gravesen and Derek Riordan they will never play for the club again. (Various)

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique thinks Hibernian striker Steven Fletcher can one day play for Real Madrid. (Daily Record

Who is Steven Davis? Is he any good?

Also, I'm having a hard time keeping up with what Blackburn has done during the off season. I go to their site, but I have to pay in order to see some of the news and I don't want to do that. Where can I find information about new players they have signed or even lost?

Also, where has Chopper been? I haven't seen him around for a while.

You wont see him no more..

The two most reliable sites for football news would be

bbc.co.uk/football
skysports.com/football

Blackburn have just sold there goalkeeper Brad Friedal who is American to Aston Villa..

uuuggghh.... Friedel was one of the reasons I became attached to Blackburn. If Santa Cruz, Samba and Bentley are moved I may have to switch allegiance to another team, one that might give me a chance to win. I just feel bad changing loyalties, I've never done that before for any sports team.

Blackburn have signed Paul Robinson from Tottenham.

You can follow Newcastle with me Blib!

Oh i forgot...you want a team who may win something...never mind then

Friedel is an excellent keeper but he isn't getting any younger and Robinson
is a good replacement!

I look forward to seeing Robinson play. Friedel was one of the only players in the Premiership I already knew because I enjoyed watching him in the World Cup in 2002. I'll get over it though and will be excited again as soon as it all starts up!

Only 2/3 weeks to go now cant wait..

Why is that then?

A timely return mate

seems so

????

So what does that mean then?

No point asking De Niro mate!

You won't see him no more......

Im here..

bbc.co,uk/football.

BREAKING GOSSIP
Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo are to hold contract talks next week, according to Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon. Ronaldo's current deal expires in 2012. (Spanish sports daily AS, 1345 BST)


England winger David Bentley takes part in a medical at Tottenham to move a step closer to a proposed £18m-move to White Hart Lane. (Various, 1130 BST)
Bentley closes in on Spurs switch



TRANSFER RUMOURS
Tottenham will splash out £36m to bring Blackburn's David Bentley and Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg to White Hart Lane. (Various)

Cristiano Ronaldo's move from Manchester United to Real Madrid is fading fast as Real say the £70m transfer is "non-viable". (Various)

Manchester City have made a £6m offer for Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun and are considering a swoop for Fulham keeper Antti Niemi. (Daily Mail)

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has set £13m Spurs duo Steed Malbranque and Younes Kaboul a 24-hour deadline to join his club. (Daily Star)

Blackburn are chasing Palermo's Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has made Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz his number one transfer target. (Daily Mirror) 606: DEBATE
Have you heard any transfer rumours?

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson is chasing Stuttgart forward Mario Gomez and is set to agree a £15m fee. (The Sun)

Stoke City are due to complete the signing of former Aston Villa keeper Thomas Sorenson but Hull are set to hijack their bid for Greece striker Angelos Charisteas. (The Sun)

Sunderland boss Roy Keane may rekindle his interest in Manchester United striker Louis Saha but will want them to reduce their £10m asking price. (The Guardian)

Chelsea have accepted a £5m bid from Manchester City for Israel defender Tal Ben-Haim, who has been offered a four-year deal. (The Times)

Celtic target, Barcelona midfielder Marc Crosas, says he would jump at the chance of a season-loan with the Scottish club. (Daily Record)

Reading defender Andre Bikey wants to quit the club and move to France. (Daily Star)

Midfielder Keith Andrews is set to complete his £2m transfer from MK Dons to Blackburn. (Daily Express)

West Brom hope to complete the signing of Madjid Bougherra from Charlton despite interest from Real Betis. (Various)

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is giving a trial to New Zealand defender Tony Lochhead (Daily Star).

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will meet former club Cardiff in a bid to resolve his contract dispute after he was turned away from pre-season training. (Various)

Wolves want to hijack Ipswich's bid to sign former Manchester City defender Ben Thatcher, who has been training with Ipswich after leaving Charlton. (Daily Star)

Argentina defender Fabricio Coloccini has threatened to walk out on Deportivo La Coruna if they refuse to allow him to move to Newcastle. (Daily Record)


Back to top

OTHER GOSSIP
Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole is set to sign a new £80,000-a-week deal with the club after impressing new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. (The Sun)

Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson has been offered a new five-year deal to stay at the club until 2013. (The Sun)

Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has settled his differences with owner Roman Abramovich after accepting a £3.5m pay-off. (Daily Mail)

New Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson says it is a relief to have left Tottenham. (Various)

Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton has his boot sponsorship deal with Nike, worth an estimated £40,000, terminated after being released from jail. (Various)

Paul Gascoigne is said to be considering a coaching job with Newcastle. (The Sun)


Back to top

AND FINALLY
The Euro 2008 tournament made a record net profit of £197m (Daily Star)

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hinted that he will stick with William Gallas as his captain. (Daily Mail)

Forfar have been fined £3,000 by the Scottish Football Association for their poor disciplinary record after receiving 11 red cards and 82 yellows last season. (Daily Record)

bbc.co.uk/football

BREAKING GOSSIP
Derby boss Paul Jewell has revealed goalkeeper Stephen Bywater is close to moving to Tottenham. (Derby Evening Telegraph, 1400 BST)

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko will not return to the San Siro this summer. (Press Association, 1356 BST)

QPR are understood to have signed striker Dani Parejo from Real Madrid on a two-year loan deal. (various, 1330 BST)

Cristiano Ronaldo intends to tell Manchester United next week he wants to leave the club and join Real Madrid. (AS, 1225 BST)

Zenit St Petersburg claim they still have not been contacted by Tottenham regarding a possible deal to take Andrei Arshavin to White Hart Lane. (BBC Sport, 0835 BST)


TRANSFER RUMOURS
Blackburn boss Paul Ince will try to complete a deal for £6m-rated Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant. (Daily Mail)

Gareth Barry will demand that Aston Villa sell him to Liverpool after Villa last night said the Merseyside club had missed a deadline to sign the midfielder. (Various)

Arsenal could also renew their interest in Gareth Barry in a player-exchange deal with Villa. (The Sun)

Tottenham are poised to complete a £50m double swoop for Russian strike duo Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin. (Various)

Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre is wanted by Paris St Germain but is holding out for his testimonial at Old Trafford. (Daily Mail) 606: DEBATE
Have you heard any transfer rumours?

Celtic defender Bobo Balde hopes to sign a one-year deal at Sunderland and move to Wearside on a free transfer. (Various)

West Ham and Manchester City are chasing highly-rated Nancy defender Michael Chretien. (Daily Mail)

Newcastle have been told by Deportivo La Coruna to cough up £10m if they want defender Fabricio Coloccini while Spurs are also said to be chasing the Argentine. (Various)

Portsmouth and Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Espanyol's £5m-rated goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. (Daily Mail)

West Brom are closing in on Charlton defender Madrid Bougherra after having a £2.3m-bid accepted, while boss Tony Mowbray has also made an offer for Bolton centre-back Abdoulaye Meite. (Various)

Younes Kaboul is set for a late £5m switch from Tottenham to Portsmouth after the defender previously agreed terms with Sunderland. (Various)

Hull boss Phil Brown wants to re-sign Manchester United striker Frazier Campbell. (Daily Express)

Celtic have opened talks with Barcelona about signing midfielder Marc Crosas in a permanent deal but will have to stump up £2.5m to sign him. (Daily Record)

Chelsea are unlikely to allow Andriy Shevechko to rejoin AC Milan on a free transfer. (The Times)

Swindon are set to swoop for midfielder Lilian Nalis and Nigerian left-back Yinka Casal. (The Sun)

Bristol City are close to signing Crewe striker Nicky Maynard after having a £2m bid accepted. (The Sun)

Celtic target Gabriel Tamas says he hasn't given up hope of sealing a move to the SPL from Auxerre. (Daily Express)

Tamas' agent says Celtic have revived their interest in the central defender and he expects a deal to be finalised in the coming days. (The Herald)

Rangers are ready to use striker Daniel Cousin as a makeweight in their efforts to sign Cardiff's Dutch defender Glenn Loovens. (The Sun)


Back to top

OTHER GOSSIP
Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp is being targeted by CSKA Moscow to become their new manager. (Daily Mirror)

Everton are close to securing manager David Moyes on a new contract worth £60,000 a week. (Various)

Arsenal stand to pocket up to £7m from David Bentley's move from Blackburn to Tottenham as part of the terms of his transfer to Ewood Park in 2006. (Various)


Back to top

AND FINALLY
Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to stay at Manchester United after arranging for two giant whirlpool hot tubs to be installed in his house in Cheshire. (Daily Star)

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley says he's not a gambling man after finding himself as the favourite to be the first Premier League boss to be sacked this season. (Various)

Man City gaffer Mark Hughes has banned mobile phones, iPods, agents and unscheduled visitors at his team's Carrington training base. (Various)

Robbie Savage's career at Derby looks dicey after the former Blackburn and Leicester midfielder was left out of the pre-season matches with chairman Adam Pearson insisting he has to "fight hard" to win his place back. (Guardian)

Spurs are splashing the cash with a vengeance!

Toon live on Setanta tonight in the Mallorca tournament.

We play Hertha Berlin at 8pm GMT.

Apparently there are 10,000 toon fans out there already

And about 20 German fans

They sure are...

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Real Madrid are preparing a final bid of £60m for Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo. (News of the World)

Ronaldo will demand to be allowed to move to Real when he returns to United on Tuesday. (Telegraph)

Tottenham must pay £19m to sign Zenit St Petersburg striker Andrei Arshavin as well as make him the highest-paid player in the world. (Mail)

Tottenham midfielder Aaron Lennon is set to reject a move to Newcastle. (News of the World)

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari expects midfielder Frank Lampard to sign a new contract with the Blues. (News of the World)

Scolari is also confident Didier Drogba will agree a new contract, which will see the striker pick up £100,000 a week. (Mail)

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believes midfielder Gareth Barry will join Liverpool. (News of the World)

But Arsenal will attempt to lure Barry to north London. (Express)

Portsmouth are losing interest in Younes Kaboul because of Spurs' £7m valuation. (News of the World)

Tottenham look set to fail with an £18m bid for West Ham striker Dean Ashton, who the Hammers insist is not for sale. (News of the World)

Everton manager David Moyes will bid £3m for Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher. (News of the World)

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson wants Everton striker Andy Johnson but for less than the £10.5m asking price. (Mail)

Bolton have tried to negotiate a deal for Jonathan Greening from West Brom in part exchange for Abdoulaye Meite. (News of the World)

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will try to persuade former club Blackburn to sell him striker Roque Santa Cruz at a price of £12m. (News of the World)

Blackburn will bid £3m for Oldham's Neal Eardley. (News of the World)

West Brom have tabled a bid of £2m for Sheffield United midfielder Michael Tonge. (News of the World)

Newcastle want to sign Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos and have been told he will cost them £10m or £7m plus goalkeeper Shay Given. (Mail)

Celtic defender Bobo Balde is being chased by Birmingham and Sunderland. (News of the World)

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan is interested in signing Southampton winger Nathan Dyer. (News of the World)

Birmingham are close to signing Spartak Moscow striker Quincy Owusu-Abeyie on loan. (News of the World)

Cardiff are on the verge of agreeing a deal for Wolves striker Jay Bothroyd. (News of the World)

Swansea and Nottingham Forest are in a battle to sign Walsall goalkeeper Clayton Ince. (News of the World)

Chesterfield want Spurs striker Andrew Barcham, but face competition for him from Bournemouth. (News of the World)

Hull City are offering former Bolton midfielder Ivan Campo a £500,000 bonus to join them and keep them in the Premier League. (News of the World)

Celtic are on the verge of signing Barcelona wonderkid Marc Crosas in a £2million deal. (Sunday Mail)

And the Parkhead club are also hot on the trail of a second Barca superkid, targeting a loan move for midfielder Jeffren Suarez. (News of the World)

Burnley and Crystal Palace are battling it out to sign Scottish striker Kevin Kyle. (Sunday Mail)


Back to top

OTHER GOSSIP
Newcastle are at the centre of a £260m takeover battle between two of Asia's richest companies. (News of the World)

West Ham will retire Bobby Moore's number six shirt for good next week. (News of the World)

Raging Hibernian boss Mixu Paatelainen has slammed reports that he wants to offload midfielder Brian Kerr. (Sunday Mail)

Scotland manager George Burley has warned Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson more is required from him if he wants a national team call-up. (Mail)


Back to top

AND FINALLY
Referee Uriah Rennie has refused to be "pensioned off" by the Premier League, who had said he was no longer required at the age of 48. The Sheffield official appealed against the ruling and won his case. (Various)

BBC CO UK/FOOTBALL

Not long now chaps

Can't wait....

Hang on a mo...i'm a Newcastle fan??

I can wait

bbc.co.uk/football

BREAKING GOSSIP
Spurs could sign Zenit St. Petersburg's Andrei Arshavin as early as Friday evening after the Russian club dropped their price tag. (setanta.com 1102 BST)




TRANSFER RUMOURS
Tottenham have joined Manchester City in the battle to sign Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City hope to win the race for Santa Cruz by increasing their bid to £15m and have also registered an interest in £10m-rated Real Zaragoza striker Diego Milito. (The Independent)

Chelsea will lodge a new £23m bid for Robinho after the Brazilian forward pleaded to be released by Real Madrid. (The Sun)

Everton are beating Newcastle in the race to sign Juventus midfield man Tiago after he was reportedly impressed by Goodison Park chairman Bill Kenwright. (Daily Mail)


Manchester United hope to unveil striker Dimitar Berbatov before Sunday's Premier League opener against Newcastle after agreeing a deal in principle with Tottenham. (Daily Star)

Spurs, however, would rather sell Berbatov to Barcelona for a cut-price fee after being angered by the way United have handled the deal. (The Sun)

Chelsea remain hopeful they will sign AC Milan's Brazil superstar Kaka but will have to wait until next season to complete the deal. (The Times)

Chelsea are ready to pay £8m to sign Manchester City's talented 18-year-old striker Daniel Sturridge. (Daily Mirror)

Olivier Kapo wants to quit Wigan only a month after arriving from Birmingham and Sunderland could offer the midfielder an escape route. (Daily Mirror).

Liverpool will offer Aston Villa a cut-price deal for Gareth Barry after the midfielder cup-tied himself for the group stage of the Champions League by playing in the Uefa Cup. (Daily Mirror)

Blackburn are ready to offer striker Robbie Fowler a short-term deal after including him in their team photograph. (The Sun)

Rangers are poised to sign Portsmouth midfield man Pedro Mendes in a £3m deal. (Daily Telegraph)

Cardiff have rejected a £3m bid for midfielder Joe Ledley from an unnamed club - with Everton known to have shown a strong interest. (The Sun)

West Brom have made a second bid to sign Charlton utility player Zheng Zhi with a £2m bid. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa are willing to pay £7m to sign Reading striker Kevin Doyle - but the Championship club is demanding £8m. (The Times)

Celtic have won the race against Rangers for Cardiff defender Glenn Loovens and he will complete the deal in Glasgow on Saturday. (Daily Record)



OTHER GOSSIP
Hull manager Phil Brown is on the verge of signing a new three-year deal that will treble his salary. (Daily Mail)

AND FINALLY
Paul Ince will remove the title of The Guv'nor from his next programme notes at Blackburn after it was used for the friendly against NAC Breda, saying: "I left that Guv'nor thing behind at Manchester United." (Daily Express)

Saturday, 16 August 2008

Barclays Premier League

Arsenal v West Brom, 12:45
Bolton v Stoke, 15:00
Everton v Blackburn, 15:00
Hull v Fulham, 15:00
Middlesbrough v Tottenham, 15:00
Sunderland v Liverpool, 17:30
West Ham v Wigan, 15:00

The Coca-Cola Football League Championship

Barnsley v Coventry, 15:00
Bristol City v Derby, 17:20
Burnley v Ipswich, 15:00
Doncaster v Cardiff, 15:00
Norwich v Blackpool, 15:00
Preston v Crystal Palace, 15:00
Reading v Plymouth, 15:00
Sheff Utd v QPR, 15:00
Southampton v Birmingham, 15:00
Swansea v Nottm Forest, 15:00
Watford v Charlton, 15:00
Wolverhampton v Sheff Wed, 15:00

Coca-Cola Football League One

Brighton v Bristol Rovers, 15:00
Carlisle v Crewe, 15:00
Cheltenham v Swindon, 15:00
Colchester v Huddersfield, 15:00
Hereford v Yeovil, 15:00
Leeds v Oldham, 15:00
Millwall v Southend, 15:00
Milton Keynes Dons v Northampton, 15:00
Peterborough v Leyton Orient, 15:00
Stockport v Leicester, 15:00
Tranmere v Hartlepool, 15:00
Walsall v Scunthorpe, 15:00


Coca-Cola Football League Two

Aldershot v Bournemouth, 15:00
Brentford v Grimsby, 15:00
Chester v Wycombe, 15:00
Chesterfield v Bury, 15:00
Exeter v Shrewsbury, 15:00
Gillingham v Luton, 15:00
Lincoln City v Dag & Red, 15:00
Macclesfield v Bradford, 15:00
Morecambe v Rotherham, 15:00
Notts County v Darlington, 15:00
Port Vale v Accrington Stanley, 15:00
Rochdale v Barnet, 15:00

This is the first time I've been able to enjoy the beginning of a new season! Go Blackburn! Kick Everton's "arse"!

"Arse" is the proper word right?

Yes it is its the go Blackburn part that doesnt sound right

Saying come on Blackburn sounds much better

Come on Blackburn!

Haway the Toon for tomorrow

Great match for Blackburn and Everton! What a way to start the season.