Latest football rumours from today's newspapers.
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Manchester City will have to pay £18m to capture Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz because of a clause in the Paraguayan striker's contract. (Daily Mirror)
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Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho has hinted that striker Adriano will be allowed to leave the San Siro in the transfer window - sparking rumours of a possible swap deal for Chelsea front-man Didier Drogba. (The Sun)
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Middlesbrough will demand Wales international left-back Gareth Bale from Tottenham as part of a £15m deal for Stewart Downing, who has become Spurs manager Harry Redknapp's top January target. (Daily Mirror)
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Celtic are set to scupper Birmingham's hopes of signing highly rated Hungarian winger Szabolcs Huszti but Everton, Bolton and Blackburn are also watching the Hannover star. (Daily Mail)
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Manchester United are set to pull out of a deal for Partizan Belgrade's Serbian winger Zoran Tosic in a row over his personal terms. (Daily Mirror)
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Everton are keen on Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake but Molineux boss Mick McCarthy says the Championship leaders will not be selling any of their stars. (The Guardian)
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Tottenham have made an £8m offer for Bordeaux striker Fernando Cavenaghi. (Daily Mirror)
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West Ham midfielder Nigel Quashie wants to turn his loan stint at Birmingham into a permanent move. (The Sun)
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Bolton are weighing up a bid of about £3m for Hearts defender Christophe Berra. (Daily Record)
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Celtic have beaten AC Milan to the signing of teenage Czech Republic star Milan Misun, who will arrive from FK Pribram in January. (Daily Record)
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Derby boss Paul Jewell hopes to sell striker Emmanuel Villa to raise funds for new signings. (Daily Mirror)
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The Rams have not received any enquiries about former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage, who has been out of favour at Pride Park since August. (Daily Star)
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Preston boss Alan Irvine is keen to sign on-loan Scotland defender Ross Wallace on a permanent basis from Sunderland. (Daily Record)
OTHER GOSSIP
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Newcastle striker Michael Owen will open talks about a new deal with the Magpies on Tuesday. (The Sun)
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Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate spent Saturday night in hospital amid fears of a recurrence of the back injury that has blighted his career. (The Sun)
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Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari spent Saturday night in hospital with kidney stones and was still in pain during his side's 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday. (Various)
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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has written off Liverpool and Arsenal's title hopes and says only Chelsea can stop Manchester United from winning a third successive Premier League title. (The Times)
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Former Walsall boss Richard Money, currently in charge of Newcastle's academy, has been offered the manager's job at League One side Swindon Town. (Daily Mirror)
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Swindon also interviewed former QPR boss Ian Holloway, ex-Carlisle manager John Ward and former Cheltenham manager Steve Cotterill. (Daily Star)
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Blackburn manager Paul Ince's job is hanging by a thread after their run of defeats continued against Wigan on Saturday - and former Rovers boss Graeme Souness is the clear favourite to replace him. (Daily Mirror)
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Ince will be called into an emergency meeting on Monday or Tuesday to explain Blackburn's sixth straight defeat. (Daily Express)
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Ince is likely to be sacked this week and a new manager will be in place before Saturday's game against Stoke. (Daily Mail)
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Ince will ask Blackburn to let him take charge against Stoke to prove he has what it takes to turn things around at Ewood Park. (The Sun)
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Souness will return on a short-term basis and his backroom staff would include popular Blackburn midfielder Tugay. (Daily Mirror)
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The prospect of Souness returning has met with opposition on Blackburn's board because of the way he left the club to take charge at Newcastle in 2004. (The Guardian)
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The directors at Ewood Park are split over who should succeed Ince, with ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce and former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley also being considered. (Daily Mirror)
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Allardyce has ruled himself out of the Blackburn job if it does become vacant. (The Sun)
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Burnley boss Owen Coyle is also among the contenders for the Rovers post. (Daily Telegraph)
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Most of the Blackburn squad flew to Dublin for their Christmas party following Saturday's 3-0 defeat by the Latics but Ince did not join them. (Daily Mirror)
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Some Rovers players, including striker Roque Santa Cruz, did not travel to Dublin either. (Daily Mail)
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Former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, ex-Real Madrid boss Bernd Schuster and veteran Carlos Alberto Parreira - who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994 - lead the host of big-name applicants for the Sunderland job. (Daily Mirror)
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Parreira is a shock front-runner for the post at the Stadium of Light but faces stiff competition from Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce and former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier. (Daily Star)
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Allardyce is keen on the Black Cats job but is yet to be approached by the Wearsiders. (Various)
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Louis van Gaal, now coaching AZ Alkmaar, and Leo Beenakker, currently in charge of Poland, are also in the frame. (Daily Express)
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Sunderland's caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia could stay in charge until after Christmas as the club continue their search for Roy Keane's successor. (The Times)
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Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn says Sbragia is a serous contender for the vacant post. (The Times)
AND FINALLY
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Middlesbrough's Austrian defender Emmanuel Pogatetz has persuaded the club to put up a cuckoo clock in the dressing room at their Rockcliffe Park training ground. (Daily Mirror)