Gossip: Transfer and rumour - September 1, 2014

Gossip: Transfer and rumour - September 1, 2014

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City and Arsenal have been offered Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, 28, for around £55m. (Guardian) 

Will the battle to land Falcao come down to a straight fight between Manchester City and Arsenal?

Arsenal are set to make an offer for Sevilla striker Carlos Bacca, 27. (Metro) 
 
Manchester United will demand £5m from any club hoping to take forward Danny Welbeck, 23, on loan for the rest of the season. (Sun - subscription required) 
 
Arsenal have been pipped to the signing of Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 19, by Roma. (Daily Express)
 
Meanwhile, Gunners forward Joel Campbell, 22, has requested a loan move to Portuguese side Benfica. (O Jogo - in Portuguese)  

Monday's Sun back page

Tom Cleverley's £8m move to Aston Villa from Manchester United is under threat because of the 25-year-old midfielder's wage demands. (Daily Telegraph) 
Real Madrid are in talks with Manchester United over taking Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, 26, on a season-long loan. (Daily Mirror) 
Sunderland are closing in on a loan move for Inter Milan forward Ricky Alvarez, 26. (Sunderland Echo) 
Tottenham will make a move for Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez, 25, and offer 23-year-old winger Andros Townsend as part exchange in a £14m deal. (Independent) 
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has lined up moves for Norwich winger Nathan Redmond, 20, and Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk, 23. (Sun - subscription required) 
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet is still hopeful of re-signing Liverpool forward Fabio Borini, 23. (Sunderland Echo) 
Valencia officials have met with representatives of Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo, 29, to discuss a possible move ahead of Monday's deadline. (Marca) 
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has ordered chief executive Ed Woodward to find willing buyers for six of his first-team squad. (Caught Offside) 

Could Jermain Defoe be on his way back to the Premier League?

Former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, 31, is wanted by Queens Park Rangers. Defoe currently plays for Major League Soccer side Toronto but they have just sacked Ryan Nelsen, the manager who signed him. (Guardian) 
Newcastle United have had an offer for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, 23, turned down by the French club. (Chronicle) 
Celtic face a late dash to land a striker after Stefan Scepovic, 24, opted not to join the Scottish champions from Sporting Gijon. (Daily Express) 
Fulham hope to sign defender Mark Hudson, 32, and striker Matt Smith, 25, from Championship rivals Cardiff City and Leeds United respectively. (Daily Mail) 

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced from BBC Monitoring)

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, 29, will take a break from football to resolve the fitness issues that have hampered him since last season. (Marca - in Spanish) 
Newcastle's 25-year-old French defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa could join Italian side AS Roma in a loan deal. (L'Equipe - in French) 
Bayern Munich have signed 18-year-old forward Sinan Kurt from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Monchengladbach on a four-year deal. (L'Equipe) 
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said "something has to change" after Los Blancos lost 4-2 to rivals Real Sociedad. (AS.com - in Spanish) 
Italian side Torino's 27-year-old midfielder and Arsenal-target Alessio Cerci has signed a three-year deal with Atletico Madrid. (Tuttosport - in Italian) 
Newcastle want to sign Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld, 25, who currently plays for Atletico Madrid. (Mundodeportivo - in Spanish) 
Russian side Spartak Moscow will sign Swiss midfielder Xheridan Shaqiri, 22, for £16m from Bayern Munich. (Bild - in German) 
Inter Milan have offered £20m to Marseille for 21-year-old French midfielder Florian Thauvin. (Le Figaro - in French) 
After signing striker Fernando Torres from Chelsea, AC Milan are hoping to land Blues midfielder Marco van Ginkel, 21, on loan. (Le Figaro) 

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 34, believes former team-mate Luis Suarez, 27, engineered his move away from Anfield to join Barcelona. (The Sun) 
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has appeared to hit out at striker Angel Di Maria following his move to Manchester United. (Evening Standard) 
Manchester United are interested in Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, 24, but they will have to wait until January to get the deal done. (Daily Star) 
In-form Swansea midfielder Nathan Dyer, 26, hopes to force his way into the England squad. (Sky Sports) 
England manager Roy Hodgson believes 22-year-old Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere could have a big part to play in the Euro 2016 qualification campaign . (The FA)

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Bayern Munich's players posed in matching shirts and lederhosen in a photoshoot  for a German beer brand.
And Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva took to Twitter  on Sunday to take issue with another user who claimed the Brazilian was in talks with two rival English clubs, accusing the poster of "giving wrong information".

AND FINALLY

Former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta has revealed that he asked a specialist to amputate his legs because of the excruciating ankle pain he suffered after retirement. (Daily Mirror)