The Rumour Mill

[RoosterLad]

It would be pretty funny if Alonso ended up at Man Utd (not that it will happen).

 

[belfast_bomber]

It would be pretty funny if Alonso ended up at Man Utd (not that it will happen).

We'll swap him for Nani.

 

[A Bit High]

Juventus will make a new bid for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso after missing out on him last summer.

Real Madrid's Dutch winger Rafael van der Vaart has been offered to Chelsea for £8m.

Tottenham hope to sign 17-year-old Charlton midfielder Jonjo Shelvey for about £3m but face competition from Newcastle and Fulham.

Meanwhile, Spurs are giving a trial to 19-year-old Ghanaian full-back Gladson Awako.

Aston Villa want £5.5m-rated Steau Bucharest defender Dorin Goian.

Fulham are ready to make a £1m bid for Scampaignerhorpe United's 21-year-old striker Gary Hooper.

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident of signing England midfielder David Beckham on a permanent deal from Los Angeles Galaxy.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy says he is interested in signing Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia, who could be available for free at the end of the season.

Bristol Rovers striker Richard Walker is lining up a move to Shrewsbury after not getting a new contract.

Nottingham Forest are set to open talks with QPR over a £1.5m deal for Loftus Road striker Dexter Blackstock.

Blackburn have invited Austrian keeper Lukas Konigshofer for a trial.

Leicester are chasing 21-year-old Lincoln striker Dany N'Guessan.

Former Manchester United keeper Mark Bosnich, 37, has held talks with Swindon.


OTHER GOSSIP
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has emerged as a shock contender to become Chelsea's new boss.

Liverpool winger Yossi Benayoun will be offered a new deal to keep him from quitting the club in the summer.

Mark Robins is the favourite to take charge at Oldham once Joe Role quits after Saturday's game against Walsall.

AND FINALLY
Arsenal's Mexican striker Carlos Vela was ordered to stay away from training on Monday while doctor's carried out tests on him for swine flu. The Gunners were worried after Vela had friends from his homeland visit him at the weekend but the 20-year-old was given the all-clear

 

[jod23]

Looks like dimwit Benitez is trying to sell Alonso again

I'll go where Alonso goes.

Where does it say that? We know we have to sell before we can buy but surely now Alonso is off the market. Babel, Lucas, Voronin, Pennant etc will all be sold waaaaay before Alonso.

 

[Kaan]

Alonso would be the 3rd last person I'd sell in Liverpool.

 

[bus24]

It would be pretty funny if Alonso ended up at Man Utd (not that it will happen).

He wouldn't - but if it happened?

Well, it is interesting.

 

[Big Kitty]

It would be pretty funny if Alonso ended up at Man Utd (not that it will happen).

Looks like dimwit Benitez is trying to sell Alonso again

I'll go where Alonso goes.

Would you bus

 

[TorresIsGod]

Would you bus

He's playing along side Juddy at the Blues next season.

 

[bus24]

Would you bus

Never say never I guess...........

ROOON-EH

ROOON-EH

ROOON-EH

How was that?

 

[Perth Swans]

Hyypia agrees deal with Leverkusen

Veteran Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia will end his decade at Anfield this summer after agreeing a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

The 35-year-old Finn moved to the Reds from Willem II Tilburg ten years ago in a £2.5m deal and made almost 500 first-team appearances for the Anfield club.

Hyypia joins a Bayer side that is currently eighth in the German Bundesliga table.

Meanwhile. reports suggest current Bundesliga leaders Wolfsburg will attempt to sign Romania international Adrian Mutu from Fiorentina this summer.

It is suggested that the former Chelsea striker will try to leave La Viola at the end of this season if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Fiorentina are currently fourth in the Serie A table with four games of the season left and will qualify for Europe's premier competition if they hold off fifth-placed Genoa's challenge.

Wolfsburg signed Palermo defenders Andrea Barzagli and Cristian Zaccardo last summer and are three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table as the season reaches an exciting climax.

Thirty-year-old Mutu has scored 52 goals in 96 starts for Fiorentina.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...ypia-agrees-deal-with-leverkusen-1679137.html

 

[Oscarman]

Late on in this morning's CL semi the commentator said that Manchester United have tabled a 60 million pound offer for Frank Ribery, as they expect CR7 to go to Real in the summer. I thought only City made those kind of offers.

 

[A Bit High]

Real Madrid presidential candidate Eduardo Garcia claims to have a deal in place to sign Didier Drogba from Chelsea if he wins the election

Manchester United have offered over £60m for Bayern Munich's French midfielder Franck Ribery, suggesting Cristiano Ronaldo will be on his way to Real Madrid in the summer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/...franck-ribery-bayern-munich-cristiano-ronaldo
Birmingham are set to offer defender Stephen Carr a long-term deal and will also try to sign West Ham midfielder Lee Bowyer, who has been on loan at St Andrew's, on a permanent deal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/04/birmingham-city-promotion-alex-mcleish
Birmingham also want Rangers striker Kris Boyd and one of his team-mates at Ibrox, defender Madjid Bougherra
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/footba...n-rangers-pair-boyd-bougherra-86908-21332995/
Rangers duo Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor could join Boyd in moving to St Andrew's in the summer
http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/headlines/display.var.2506067.0.McLeish_plots_6m_Rangers_spree.php
Free agents Sol Campbell, Kanu and Sean Davis could lead the way in a mass exodus from Portsmouth this summer

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has told some of his older players they are playing for their futures and he will recommend who should stay and who should go when he leaves
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ing-futures-insists-Chelsea-boss-Hiddink.html

OTHER GOSSIP
England midfielder Frank Lampard says the more Chelsea fail in the Champions League, the more he understands people saying they are destined not to win it - but the more determined he is to prove them wrong.
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...wonder-if-well-ever-win-this-cup-1679037.html
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says his side's Champions League semi-final against Arsenal is "unquestionably" his biggest showdown with old rival Arsene Wenger
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/99000/This-is-the-one
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he wanted Sami Hyypia, who has agreed to join Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season, to stay at Anfield, with an eye on an eventual coaching role. The Spaniard added "the door is always open" for the defender's return

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...de-as-Rafael-Benitez-eyes-Alvaro-Negredo.htmlJoey Barton's agent insists the midfielder wants to stay at Newcastle next season, even if the Magpies are relegated
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/79394/Barton-Don-t-boot-me-out/
However, Barton may already have played his last game for the club after being suspended without pay for two weeks following a post-match bust-up with boss Alan Shearer following the player's red card at Liverpool
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/newcastle/article6223306.ece
Hull duo Daniel Cousin and Geovanni had to be separated during an on-field argument at half-time in their defeat by Aston Villa on Monday night

AND FINALLY
Manchester United want to raise the capacity of Old Trafford to 95,000, which would be bigger than Wembley

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo says a red London bus was his first image of England and he plans to buy one and keep it in his back garden for his nieces and nephews to play in when they come to visit
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/79395/Ron-the-buses/
Injured Everton midfielder Phil Jagielka says he "cried uncontrollably" when he realised he would miss the FA Cup final because of his knee problem
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...jagielka-reveals-cup-final-agony-1676273.html
Oscar-nominated film-maker Emir Kusturica says he felt "killed" by English critics' reviews of his biographical film about Argentine legend Diego Maradona because of their obsession with the 'hand of God' goal rather than his plus points

Television presenter, author, actor and director Stephen Fry sent a Twitter message to his followers saying "Norwich in the third tier - sob" as they were relegated on Sunday

 

[Hawthorn United]

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo says a red London bus was his first image of England and he plans to buy one and keep it in his back garden for his nieces and nephews to play in when they come to visit

When they visit Manchester or Madrid?

 

[Ray Nolan]

Birmingham are set to offer defender Stephen Carr a long-term deal and will also try to sign West Ham midfielder Lee Bowyer, who has been on loan at St Andrew's, on a permanent deal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/04/birmingham-city-promotion-alex-mcleish
Birmingham also want Rangers striker Kris Boyd and one of his team-mates at Ibrox, defender Madjid Bougherra
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/footba...n-rangers-pair-boyd-bougherra-86908-21332995/
Rangers duo Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor could join Boyd in moving to St Andrew's in the summer

- McGregor: **** Yeah! Sign him up!
- Bougherra: **** Yeah! Sign him up!
- Carr: No problem, sign him up as a squad bod.
- Boyd: Not convinced, Football's equivalent of a flat-track bully and we have 1 average Scottish striker already in O'Connor. Pay no more than 2 million if we're to sign him.
- Ferguson: Not top-line SPL quality so definitely not lower table EPL quality, not interested.
- Bowyer: **** off & die, total waster who has contributed **** all. Get. Red. Now.

 

[A Bit High]

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, the man who signed Joey Barton for Newcastle, could be interested in acquiring him for Rovers after the Magpies began moves to terminate the midfielder's contract.


Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has dropped hints he may leave the club, saying he speaks to AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani regularly and describes the club as "sexy as Beyonce".

Porto left-back Aly Cissokho claims Tottenham are interested in him.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he will not be put off making big-money signings, despite striker Robbie Keane's short and ill-fated stay at the club this season before returning to Tottenham.


Sunderland have decided against making striker Djibril Cisse's loan move from Marseille into a permanent transfer.


Portsmouth have failed in a £500,000 bid for Scotland's young player of the year, Hamilton midfielder James McCarthy.



OTHER GOSSIP
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink has told his some of his older players that this year represents their best chance of winning the Champions League with this squad.

Everton manager David Moyes says left-back Leighton Baines is sure to feature for England at the 2010 World Cup if he maintains his current form.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has admitted he does not know how the club will cope financially whether or not they avoid relegation from the Premier League.

West Ham could miss out on a place in Europe next season because of doubts over their ability to satisfy the demands of the Uefa club licence that is required. The Hammers missed the initial deadline for applications, which was 30 April.


Norwich are set to appoint caretaker boss Bryan Gunn as their full-time manager to try to avoid further upheaval after their relegation to League One.



AND FINALLY
On-loan midfielder David Beckham and his AC Milan team-mates, plus former Arsenal stars Mathieu Flamini and Philippe Senderos were in the crowd to watch Manchester United beat Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday

 

[AG]

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has dropped hints he may leave the club, saying he speaks to AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani regularly and describes the club as "sexy as Beyonce".

Get rid of him. He's becoming a wank.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he will not be put off making big-money signings, despite striker Robbie Keane's short and ill-fated stay at the club this season before returning to Tottenham.

I'd be worried about who Benitez gets rid of to fund the transfers. He wouldn't be that stupid to sell Alonso.

 

[DB10]

We'd better stop playing Adebayor ASAP anyway. The more he plays the more his value goes down.

 

[RoosterLad]

Surely he didn't say AC Milan is "sexy as Beyonce". It wouldn't surprise me though.

 

[belfast_bomber]

I think he actually said "sexy as Berlusconi".

Which is just wrong.

 

[moomba]

Never say never I guess...........

ROOON-EH

ROOON-EH

ROOON-EH

How was that?

If you want to pass yourself off as a United supporter you best start learning your cockney rhyming slang.

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

According to the mirror we are closing in on signing Joe Ledley.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footb...ardiff-midfielder-joe-ledley-115875-21338015/

With 12 months left on his contract, we should be able to get him for a bit cheaper than £6 million, although Stoke may push the price up a little.

 

[belfast_bomber]

Has Ledley ever been seen in the same room as that bloke off League of Gentlemen and Benidorm?

"This is a local shop, for local people!"

"This is a local club, for local people!"

 

[bus24]

If you want to pass yourself off as a United supporter you best start learning your cockney rhyming slang.

Plus I need to learn how to eat with chopsticks.

 

[moomba]

Plus I need to learn how to eat with chopsticks.

If you're really serious about this you might like to try walking around with a large penis strapped to your head as well. JUST JOKING

 

[bus24]

If you're really serious about this you might like to try walking around with a large penis strapped to your head as well. JUST JOKING

Some might say that's an adjustment that doesn't need to be made.

I'm halfway there!