Tuesday’s news and transfer rumour gossip.
Manchester United are planning a £20m move to bring Barcelona defender Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford. The 27-year-old moved to the Nou Camp in 2008 – (Daily Star)
United will offer Real Madrid’s 27-year-old anchorman Sami Khedira a contract worth £5.5m a year to try and beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the queue – (Daily Express)
AC Milan are also interested in Germany international Khedira, while the Italian side could also make a move for 20-year-old Liverpool midfielder Suso – (Daily Mail)
Defender Rio Ferdinand could be offloaded by QPR in January after six months at Loftus Road. The former England captain, who turns 36 in November, could be replaced by Porto’s Rolando, 29, or West Ham’s 26-year-old Winston Reid – (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool will compete with Juventus and several Spanish sides for the signature of Porto’s 17-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves – (Daily Mirror)
Bayern Munich are to step up their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s 25-year-old forward Marco Reus, who is also a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United – (Daily Star)
Leeds are pondering a loan move for Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic, 26, who has fallen out of favour at Fiorentina – (Tuttomercatoweb)
Former Real Madrid striker Raul, whose last club was Qatari side Al-Saad, is set to sign a deal with North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos. The 37-year-old will also have a role at the club’s academy – (ESPN FC)
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he would like to manage in Spain one day as he prepares to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday – (AS)
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Rodgers should drop striker Mario Balotelli for the Champions League group game on Wedensday and play Raheem Sterling up front instead – (Daily Mail)
Getting the Olympic Stadium ready for West Ham to use could cost the taxpayer up to £50m more than expected – (Daily Telegraph)
Tottenham playmaker Erik Lamela, 22, believes that Spurs can secure a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite their 4-1 weekend defeat by champions Manchester City – (Evening Standard)
CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa, 22, has pinpointed Manchester City’s “very weak” defence before the teams’ meeting in the Russian capital on Tuesday – (Manchester Evening News)
Sunderland winger Will Buckley, 24, denies his side gave up during Saturday’s 8-0 thrashing away to Southampton – (Evening Chronicle)
Barcelona’s 31 year-old Brazilian defender Dani Alves could be on his way to England to play for Manchester United next season – (L’Equipe – in French)
Real Madrid are looking at Bayern Munich’s David Alaba, 22, as a possible replacement for defender Marcelo Vieira if the 26-year-old Brazilian defender decides to leave the club in 2015 – (Bild – in German)
Chelsea have hired promising 13-year-old French goalkeeper Nicolas Tie from FC Poitiers – (Le Figaro – in French)
Real Madrid are considering a £22m move for Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj, 19 – (AS.com – in Spanish)
Chile international Arturo Vidal has clarified that his relationship with Juventus is very good after reports suggested that the 27-year-old midfielder was fined by the Italian club – (Tuttosport)
Brazilian striker Adriano, 32, is on the verge of signing a deal with French Club Le Havre – (L’Equipe)
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, 21, and striker Karim Benzema, 26, have returned to training ahead of the club’s encounter against Liverpool on Tuesday – (AS.com)
Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all turned down the chance to sign Raheem Sterling, 19, before the winger joined Liverpool from QPR for an initial £500,000 in 2012 – (Daily Express)
Chelsea scouts are keeping close tabs on Marseille midfielder Giannelli Imbula as the Blues line up alternative targets to Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira – (Metro)
Daley Blind rescued a precious point for Manchester United – then boss Louis van Gaal insisted his men can catch Chelsea – (Daily Star)
Angel Di Maria may have handed Manchester United a possible injury blow after he was pictured holding an ice pack on his groin – (Daily Express)