A round up of Tuesday’s transfer gossip.
Everton have ‘put aside’ a new deal for Manchester United target Leighton Baines, but manager Roberto Martinez promises a contract will be sorted for the defender – Daily Mirror
Italian champions Juventus will provide stiff competition for Liverpool to sign Xabi Alonso, 31, should the Real Madrid midfielder fail to extend his contract beyond next summer – talkSPORT
Arsenal are set to sign Basel defender Fabian Schar, 21, in January as boss Arsene Wenger looks to strengthen his backline – Metro
Sunderland want Watford boss Gianfranco Zola to succeed fellow Italian Paolo Di Canio as manager – Daily Mirror
Blackpool manager Paul Ince could also be looked at by Black Cats officials as Di Canio’s successor – Daily Mail
Unemployed duo Roberto Di Matteo and Gus Poyet, also contenders to replace Di Canio, have serious reservations about taking the job – Guardian
Bristol City are interested in signing winger Luke Freeman, 21, in a £300,000 deal from League One rivals Stevenage – Daily Star
Brighton centre-back Lewis Dunk, 21, is wanted on loan by MK Dons and Swindon – Daily Star
Liverpool are prepared to wait before offering Glen Johnson, 29, a new contract despite the defender entering the final two years of his current deal – Daily Telegraph
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits he does not know when forward Theo Walcott, 24, will be fit to return from a stomach problem – Independent
Wenger still has a £50m transfer pot to spend at Arsenal even after paying £42.5m for 24-year-old midfielder Mesut Ozil – Daily Express
Manager Owen Coyle has blamed TV schedules for the fact Wigan will have to play a weakened team against Manchester City on Tuesday night in the Capital One Cup just two days after their Championship game with Ipswich – Daily Mail
On-loan Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, 20, has revealed how he is improving his game – by watching every second of every Premier League game – Metro
Wolves striker Leigh Griffiths, 23, was praised for giving his shirt to a pensioner after striking the lifelong fan with a ball while warming up before his side’s 1-0 win at Shrewsbury on Saturday – Express & Star
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says that Luis Suarez is ‘champing at the bit’ to get back on the pitch – talkSPORT
Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria has rubbished reports that he is looking to leave the club in January – talkSPORT
Arsenal keep a close eye on young Bayer Leverkusen defender Maximilian Wagener – Daily Mirror
Man City, Newcastle and Spurs quoted £8m for Gil Vicente defender Pecks – Daily Mirror
Monaco are trailing Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes – L’Equipe
Gareth Bale hopes to return for Real Madrid’s derby with Atletico this weekend after missing Saturday’s game with a thigh injury – Marca