CHELSEA TO REPLACE INTER-BOUND CARVALHO WITH ALVES
It's not one we've heard before but the paper is reporting that 'Carvalho arrived in Milan on Friday night amid confusion as to whether he was in talks with both Serie A clubs, but it is understood he is likely to join European champions Inter.'
Let's start with something different.
According to The Daily Telegraph, 'Chelsea are set to move for Porto defender Bruno Alves after agreeing to sell his Portuguese team-mate, Ricardo Carvalho.'
And the Alves connection?
'Chelsea have long admired Alves, however, who declared two days ago he wanted to leave Porto. Alves, 28, has two years left on his contract and Porto had hoped to secure a fee of £15 million for him, but such is his desire to leave that they may now have to settle for less.'
MASCA TO HAND IN TRANSFER REQUEST
This one has already been long in coming:
'Javier Mascherano is ready to try and force Liverpool's hand over a move from Anfield by submitting a transfer request.'
The Daily Mail says that 'The Liverpool midfielder is aware of continuing interest from Barcelona. Increasingly concerned at an apparent deadlock over engineering a transfer to either club, he is preparing to hand Roy Hodgson his first major test as Liverpool boss by asking for a move.'
But even that might not be sufficient because the Mail reckons Liverpool are to slap a 'prohibitive' £30m price-tag on the Argentine.
A possible greasing of the wheels would be the offer of 'Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari in part-exchange, but it would still take a cash adjustment of at around £20m to push a deal through.'
Yes, there's a typo in there.
CITY CONFIRM DZEKO AND BALOTELLI 'INTEREST'
Man City boss Roberto Mancini has confirmed his interest in signing Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli and Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko.
The Italian is widely quoted as saying in the morning papers that "'If Inter sell Balotelli, we'll be there. In Dzeko, City have more than a 'simple' interest. Dzeko and Balotelli together to Manchester City? It is a good idea!"
BELLAMY (AND SANTA CRUZ OUT) OF CITY
But if both Balotelli and Dzeko do arrive, there will be a shortage of seats on the Ctiy bus so it's no surprise to read in the Daily Mirror that 'Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz is another striker facing an uncertain future at Eastlands as the club look to revamp their striking options.
Italian club Palermo are one of several monitoring the situation of the 28-year-old, who failed to score in 19 appearances last season.'
Or that, in the words of the Daily Mail, ''Tottenham are closing in on a £6m deal for Manchester City winger Craig Bellamy'.
CARRICK TO SUNDERLAND FOR £7M?
Unfortunately, the Mail provides no additional detail on their Bellamy claim, but we were intrigued by their report elsewhere that 'Sunderland are weighing up a £7million bid for Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick.'
The Black Cats have a midfield vacancy after the shock (and very swift) exit of captain Lorik Cana. Could Carrick fit the bill? The Mail thinks he would.
'Carrick, who moved to Old Trafford from Tottenham for an initial £14m four years ago, would be ideal skipper material for Bruce, who has Michael Turner, Lee Cattermole or Craig Gordon as alternatives to take the captain's armband.'
And it takes two to tango...
'United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to listen to offers for the England midfielder, who turns 29 at the end of the month.'
BRUCE CONFIRMS SOL CAMPBELL TALKS
As the headline above mentions, Steve Bruce has confirmed he has held talks with Sol Campbell.
However, the Sunderland boss has played down suggestions that a transfer is imminent.
"I've known Sol for a lot of years and it was nice to see him again. We had a catch up to see what his ideas are and what he is up to. It was pretty positive stuff and we will see what happens," said Bruce.
KEANE WON'T BE OFFLOADED ON LOAN
A quick line that is sort of related to the talk of Craig Bellamy moving to Tottenham...
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has ruled out letting Robbie Keane leave on loan again following his spell at Celtic last season.
"We paid good money for him and to loan him out again wouldn't be a goer," Redknapp is quoted as saying by the Indy.
GOSLING IN WEST HAM TALKS
Nobody seems particularly surely where Dan Gosling is going but, according to The Times, the player 'held talks with Avram Grant, the West Ham United manager, at the club's training ground yesterday.
SNEIJDER FOR CHELSEA?
We've hidden this one at the bottom because we aren't buying a single penny of it, but The Mirror is claiming that 'Chelsea have joined Manchester United in the chase for Holland World Cup star Wesley Sneijder.'
Would that be the Sneijder who has this week vowed to stay loyal to Inter? Indeed it would, but the Mirror are undeterred:
'Sneijder has been made aware Chelsea will match any United offer and increase his wages to land a player that owner Roman Abramovich is willing to break the bank for.
'And while Sneijder has claimed his 'heart' is with Champions League winners Inter Milan, Chelsea believe they are in with a strong chance if it becomes a bidding war.'
