Tuesday’s news and transfer rumour gossip.
Napoli are ready to open talks to sign 24-year-old Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli in January – just months after he arrived on Merseyside from AC Milan – (Daily Express)
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino hopes to sign £15m-rated Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez, 25, in the January transfer window – (Daily Telegraph)
Arsenal are favourites to sign Mats Hummels, 25, after Manchester United withdrew their interest in the Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender – (Daily Star)
The Gunners and Newcastle are interested in signing Andre-Pierre Gignac, 28, after Marseille admitted they might not be able to keep prolific France forward – (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have had their hopes of signing Belgian winger Zakaria Bakkali boosted, as the 18-year-old has refused to sign a new contract at PSV Eindhoven – (Daily Express)
Juventus chief executive Giuseppe Marotta claims that striker Radamel Falcao, 28, would have rather joined his club than Manchester United on loan from Monaco – (London Evening Standard)
Premier League champions Manchester City are among the sides trying to sign Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27 – (Daily Star)
Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs flew to Turkey to watch Ghana’s World Cup striker Abdul Majeed Waris, 23, play for Trabzonspor – (Daily Mirror)
Former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson believes Marouane Fellaini, 27, is finally starting to show his best form at Old Trafford after a difficult first season – (Manchester Evening News)
Former Birmingham City manager Lee Clark is the favourite to replace the sacked Jose Riga at Blackpool – (Daily Express)
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez says in his new book that Liverpool are in good hands with manager Brendan Rodgers because of his tactical expertise – (Guardian)
Retired Manchester United defender Gary Neville – now a member of England’s coaching staff and a television pundit – says Chelsea have shown a lack of killer instinct by failing to win either of their Premier League games in Manchester this season – (Sky Sports)
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is facing an injury crisis ahead of Tuesday’s Capital One Cup trip to League Two side Shrewsbury – (Independent)
Defender Connor Goldson, 21, has warned Chelsea that Shrewsbury are full of confidence after winning four games in a row – (Shropshire Star)
Former Newcastle United managing director Derek Llambias has told Rangers fans they should be excited about what new shareholder Mike Ashley has in store for the club – (Herald)
Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert, 32, believes he and Mario Balotelli, 24, can help each other end their goal droughts – (ESPN)
Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe is convinced that Serbian winger Lazar Markovic, 20, will soon start to justify his £20m price tag – (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester City defender Aleksandar Kolarov, 28, has warned his team-mates that they must respect neighbours United or risk defeat in Sunday’s derby – (Talksport)
Manchester City midfielder James Milner, 28, does not expect a warm reception from the visiting Newcastle supporters when he faces his former club in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday – (Chronicle)
Premier League clubs have fielded a record low number of homegrown players this season, a survey of Europe’s “big five” leagues has revealed – (Guardian)
Tottenham are in advanced discussions with former Arsenal and Chelsea star Lassana Diarra but could face competition for the 29-year-old French midfielder from Marseille – (L’Equipe – in French)
Carlos Tevez, 30, is set to join the Argentine squad for the first time in three years after coach Gerardo Martino called up the Juventus forward for the friendlies against Portugal and Croatia – (Tuttosport – in Italian)
Real Madrid will appeal against the three-month ban imposed on Zinedine Zidane for coaching the club’s reserves without holding the required qualifications – (Le Figaro – in French)
Almost 60% of Crystal Palace fans would welcome a club takeover by American billionaire Josh Harris, according to a poll – (London Evening Standard)
Arsenal are ready to open talks with Barcelona over a £25million deal to sign their want-away winger Pedro in January – (Metro)