Football rumours from today's newspapers.
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Real Madrid are confident of landing Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso for £23m if Florentino Perez is appointed president again.
(The Sun)
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Inter Milan are preparing a double-swoop for Chelsea duo Ricardo Carvalho and Jon Mikel Obi and hope to land the pair for £21m.
(Daily Express)
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Meanwhile Chelsea are confident they can hold off the advances of Barcelona and tie left-back Ashley Cole to a new deal.
(The Guardian)
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Manchester United have been warned they face stiff competition to land Wigan winger Antonio Valencia.
(The Sun)
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Aston Villa are prepared to lose £9m and let Gareth Barry run out the remainder of his contract, rather than sell him to a Premier League rival.
(The Sun)
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Liverpool are preparing a £10m bid for Portsmouth right-back Glen Johnson. (Daily Star)
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However, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez may be prepared to pay as much as £15m for the Portsmouth man.
(Daily Mail)
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Middlesbrough will slap a £9m price tag on defender David Wheater if they are relegated to the Championship on Sunday.
(The Sun)
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Wheater is wanted by Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill who is hopeful of landing the centre-back for £7m. (Daily Star)
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Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has been assured he has a future at the club. (Daily Express)
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Chelsea are leading the chase for Wolfsburg's £6m-rated striker Edin Dzeko. (Daily Mirror)
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Olympiakos are set to offer Blackburn £2m for striker Matt Derbyshire, who is on loan at the Greek side. (Daily Mirror)
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Joseph Yobo looks set to leave Everton after turning down a new deal at the club.
(Daily Mail)
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Birmingham are interested in signing Celtic defender Bobo Balde. (Daily Mirror)
OTHER GOSSIP
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Chelsea are set to confirm AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager as early as next week. (Daily Star)
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Celtic want David Moyes to become their new manager next season.
(The Sun)
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Alan Shearer has given the strongest hint yet that he will stay on as Newcastle manager, even if the club are relegated on Sunday.
(The Sun)
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However, assistant manager Iain Dowie has cast doubt over Shearer's long-term involvement at the club. (The Telegraph)
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Hull striker Dean Windass is set to land a role as player-coach, alongside Colin Todd, at League Two side Darlington. (Daily Mirror)
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Exeter boss Paul Tisdale has emerged as the leading contender to replace Steve Coppell as Reading manager. (The Sun)
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Newcastle coach Colin Calderwood is on the short-list to become the new Chesterfield manager. (Daily Mirror)
AND FINALLY
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Former world player of the year Luis Figo is considering an offer to play in the Chinese Super League. (Chinese sports newspaper Titan Sports)