Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan is a shock transfer target for Real Madrid. The Ghana international, a £13m club record buy from Rennes last summer, has hit six goals for the Black Cats.
  (The Mirror)


• Bottom-of-the-table West Ham hope to sign Joey Barton from Newcastle in a £5m deal in January, with the controversial midfielder's future at St James' Park in doubt following the sacking of his manager and mentor Chris Hughton.
  (The Mirror)


• Out-of-favour Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is wanted by Spanish outfit Malaga.
  (Daily Mail)


• Tottenham misfit David Bentley is wanted by his former club Blackburn, with a £1m loan switch likely for the winger.
  (Daily Mail)


• Fulham are on the brink of signing £8m-rated goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who plays for Club America in Mexico.
  (The Sun)

• Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may be forced to reverse his decision not to speak to the BBC as the Premier League plans to introduce rules that will require managers and players to talk to the press after every match or face a fine.
  (The Guardian)


• Fabio Capello believes Tottenham's Harry Redknapp and Blackburn's Sam Allardyce top the list of potential candidates to replace him when he steps down as England manager in 2012.
  (Daily Mail)


• Capello, meanwhile, has insisted his England side are improving under his leadership, and put down last month's dire showing in the 2-1 friendly defeat to France down to too many young, inexperienced players being selected.
  (SundayTelegraph)


• England are close to agreeing to play the Republic of Ireland in a friendly in Dublin - on the same day they were due to take on Thailand in Bangkok.
  (Daily Star)


• Fifa president Sepp Blatter has compounded England's crushing disappointment at losing the 2018 World Cup bid by branding the English 'bad losers'.
  (Daily Mail)


• Aston Villa defender James Collins has been disciplined by his manager Gerard Houllier for visiting a nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning, just hours before the team travelled to Liverpool for Monday's 3-0 Premier League defeat.
  (SundayTelegraph)


• Manchester United winger Nani has taunted Chelsea by insisting that his club's next opponents Arsenal, and not the Blues, are their main challengers for the Premier League title.
  (Daily Star)

• Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has banned his players from wearing snoods during matches, instructing his squad to brave the cold without the circular scarfs which are popular with players such as Manchester City's Carlos Tevez.
  (The Sun)


• Around 1,000 Spartak Moscow supporters have blocked one of the Russian capital's main roads in protest at the fatal shooting of one of the club's fans on Sunday night.
  (TheIndependent)


• Florent Malouda says his Chelsea team-mate - and best friend - Didier Drogba was just a lippy unknown when he first shared a dressing room with him at Guingamp in France.
  (Daily Express)