Football rumours from today's newspapers

• Newcastle are weighing up a £12.5m move for 28-year-old Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino, according to reports in Italy.
  (TalkSport)


• Roma want Manchester City keeper Shay Given - and Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni ­Trapattoni has encouraged him to consider a move to Serie A.
  (The Mirror)


• Manchester United are considering a move for Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone in the January transfer window. Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson is thought to be a big fan of the £16m-rated midfielder.
  (caughtoffside)


• Meanwhile, Ferguson could bring Aston Villa centre-back Ciaran Clark to Old Trafford as part of a deal involving striker Michael Owen moving to the West Midlands outfit.
  (caughtoffside)


• Nigeria striker Victor Obinna wants to make his loan move from Inter Milan to West Ham permanent because he likes the style of Premier League football.
  (The Mirror)


• Fulham centre-back Brede Hangeland and Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg could be on their way to Arsenal in a £22m double swoop in January.
  (caughtoffside)

• Manchester United want to give a trial to Brazilian youngster Andrigo, who plays for Internacional. Barcelona have also invited the 15-year-old forward for a trial at the Nou Camp.
  (Daily Mirror)


• Danish defender Daniel Agger has become the first Liverpool player to openly challenge Roy Hodgson's authority after claiming he will not fall in line with the manager's long-ball mantra.
  (Daily Express)


• Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has made a lively start to the new season at Hamburg in Germany by scoring six goals in five games, admits he could bring an end to his glittering career at the end of the season.
  (Daily Mail)


• Liverpool pair Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres could be on their way out of the Anfield outfit as co-owner Tom Hicks plots a £280m buyout of partner George Gillett's shares in the club.
  (caughtoffside)


• West Ham striker Benni McCarthy says he is ready to play in Tuesday's Carling Cup clash with Sunderland, after been fined by the Hammers for being overweight.
  (Daily Mail)


• Manchester United front-man Dimitar Berbatov, who scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 win against Liverpool on Sunday, says his summer fitness regime has been the key to his excellent start to the season.
  (Daily Mail)

• Norwich director and noted intellectual Stephen Fry got some football facts, regarding 1940s Wolves striker Dennis Westcott, slightly wrong on the first programme in a new series of his television quiz show QI. Fry claimed Wolves manager Major Frank Buckley experimented with injecting monkey glands to improve his team's fitness, leading to a goal spree by Westcott. However, Westcott's run of 38 goals in 35 games was in 1946-47, Buckley left Wolves in 1944 and the monkey glands controversy was in 1938.
  (Daily Mail)


• Bolton boss Owen Coyle has revealed that Brian Laws, manager of Coyle's former club Burnley, sent him a text message saying simply 'ouch' when the the two clubs were paired together for Tuesday's Carling Cup tie at Turf Moor.
  (The Mirror)