Football rumours from today's newspapers
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Striker Fernando Torres and goalkeeper Pepe Reina are ready to quit Liverpool in January because of escape clauses in their contracts.
(The Mirror)
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Chelsea are facing intense competition from Real Madrid for the signing of 17-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian sensation has been described as "the next Didier Drogba" and his club have already turned down a bid of £17.5m for the player, rumoured to be from Tottenham.
(Daily Telegraph)
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Bayern Munich have launched a £40m bid to rival Manchester City for the signing of Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko in January.
(Daily Mail)
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Italian giants Juventus have emerged as the surprise candidates to sign striker Robbie Keane from Tottenham once the January transfer window opens.
(The Sun)
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Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes has urged manager Harry Redknapp to buy quality - "you need experienced players, those who know how to win the Premier League," he said - in January.
(Daily Star)
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Monaco forward Dieumerci Mbokani is flattered but uninterested by suggestions of a January move to Tottenham.
(The Independent)
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Midfielder Steven Pienaar has sparked a four-club scramble for his services after stalling on a new deal with Everton. The South African international, who is free to speak to prospective suitors in January, has been linked with Inter Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham.
(Daily Star)
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Blackpool midfielder and captain Charlie Adam is at loggerheads with his employers over an unpaid £20,000 payment in his contract and could walk out on the club for nothing.
(The Mirror)
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The Seasiders look set to chase the signature of former Liverpool trainee Adam Hammill, 22, in the January transfer window. The striker now plays for Barnsley.
(The Mirror)
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Blackburn could bring Birmingham City winger Sebastian Larsson and Manchester City striker John Guidetti to Ewood Park if Venky's group buys the club.
(The Mirror)
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Wigan are keen to sign on-loan Bolton keeper Ali Al-Habsi - leaving a question mark over Chris Kirkland's future at the DW Stadium.
(The Mirror)
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Rangers' bid to sign Algerian midfielder Salim Kerkar, who is a free agent following his release by Gueugnon, has been delayed because his former club are demanding more than £300,000 in compensation for training the 23-year-old.
(Daily Record)
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Rangers have approached world governing body Fifa in a bid to sign free agent Salim Kerkar despite claims of compensation from the midfielder's previous club, Gueugnon.
(Daily Express)
OTHER GOSSIP
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Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, who suffered a dead leg in Sunday's defeat by Arsenal, has been given permission to fly home to Argentina to begin a desperate bid to be fit in time for the visit of his old club and local rivals Manchester United on 10 November.
(Daily Mail)
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Barcelona's 39-year-old coach Josep Guardiola is in line to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United when the Scot retires.
(The Mirror)
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Injury-plagued striker Michael Owen may quit football if Manchester United release him at the end of this season.
(The Sun)
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Andoni Zubizarreta, Barcelona's director of football, has revealed that no deal has been struck with Arsenal to sign talismanic midfielder Cesc Fabregas in the summer.
(The Independent)
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Chelsea have opened talks with Serb defender Branislav Ivanovic over a new long-term contract worth £60,000 a week.
(The Sun)
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England coach Fabio Capello will send right-hand man Franco Baldini to Newcastle on Sunday to check on Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and Magpies striker Andy Carroll.
(Daily Express)
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Top Premier League footballers are using a major tax loophole to protect their multi-million pound salaries from the tax authorities. Clubs are adopting completely-legal EFRBS - employer-financed retirement benefit schemes - to allow players to sacrifice up to 50 per cent of their wages at source to be placed in a trust that is set aside for their retirement.
(The Independent)
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The Scottish Premier League's latest accounts show that turnover fell by almost one fifth to £21.2m in the year to May as members grappled with the collapse of television partner Setanta Sport.
(The Herald)
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The Crown Office has warned that threatening Scotland's referees could lead to perpetrators receiving five years in jail if caught.
(Various)
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The Scottish Football Association's investigation into a penalty overturned for Celtic against Dundee United will back Dougie McDonald's decision and the referee will not be demoted.
(The Sun)
AND FINALLY
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England captain Rio Ferdinand has used his page on social networking site Twitter to ask for Manchester United's younger players to be given time to develop.
(Daily Mail)
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Stoke manager Tony Pulis admits Tuncay has "annoyed" him in the past but insists they now get on well - after the Turkish striker returned from his last trip home with two bottles of wine as a gift for his boss.
(The Mirror)
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Brazilian midfielder Ramires admits that life under the spotlight at Chelsea, where every performance is scrutinised, is unlike anything he has experienced before.
Full story: Daily Express
However, Chelsea defender Alex believes seeing the Blues this season is just like watching Brazil.
(The Mirror)
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Former Aston Villa and Manchester City striker Darius Vassell, now with Leicester City, has spoken of the bewilderment and homesickness that undermined his spell at Turkish club Ankaragucu.
(The Mirror)
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Ex-Everton and Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers, who has been a free agent since May, is heading down under for a 10-week stint with Australian side Newcastle Jets.
(The Mirror)