Thursday’s news and transfer rumour gossip.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal wants to bolster his defence with a £10m January bid for Porto centre-back Bruno Martins Indi, the 22-year-old Netherlands international – (Daily Star)
Manchester City have joined a long list of teams, including Bayern Munich and Arsenal, who are chasing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus, 25 – (Bild)
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, 27, was left out of the starting line-up for the second successive game amid speculation Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have submitted offers for the Spain international. –(Daily Mail)
QPR have been told it will cost at least £10m if they want to sign former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe, 32, from MLS side Toronto in the New Year – (Daily Star)
Southampton would be willing to pay in excess of £15m for Palermo’s 20-year-old Argentine forward Paulo Dybala – (Tuttosport)
Kevin Strootman, 24, is expected to make his long-awaited return to action for a Roma reserve team this weekend in a move that could boost Manchester United’s prospects of signing the Netherlands midfielder in January – (Times – subscription required)
Forward Joel Campbell, 22, is ready to leave Arsenal in January after becoming fed-up at a lack of first-team chances – (Daily Mirror)
Robin van Persie, 31, has scored only three goals this term and his place in the Manchester United starting line-up against Crystal Palace this weekend is reportedly under threat from 18-year-old James Wilson, who came on for him in the Manchester derby defeat at Etihad – (Daily Mirror)
EA Sports have picked a 23-man England squad based on official Performance Data, which includes three each from West Brom, West Ham and Sunderland, with neither Wayne Rooney nor Joe Hart making the starting XI – (Daily Mail)
Leicester City assistant manager Craig Shakespeare has denied talks have taken place with midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, 34, over extending his contract, which expires at the end of the season – (Leicester Mercury)
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez, 27, says he does not know how former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard, 34, managed to play on after his costly slip against Chelsea last season – (Daily Mirror)
Roy Hodgson is ready to hand Theo Walcott an England recall, despite the 25-year-old Arsenal forward having played just 10 minutes of football in more than nine months – (Daily Telegraph)
Real Sociedad say they are talking to former Manchester United and Everton boss David Moyes about the managerial vacancy at the Spanish club – (Guardian)
Former Liverpool manager Roy Evans reckons forward Raheem Sterling must go back to basics as the 19-year-old looks to regain his form – (Talksport)
Birmingham City director Panos Pavlakis says the club is in a “much safer” position financially than previously – (Birmingham Mail)
Real Madrid are preparing a £20m offer for Tottenham goalkeeper and French national team captain Hugo Lloris, 27 – (Lefigaro)
Lille manager Rene Girard has ruled out the possibility of an exchange between the French club and Liverpool for strikers Mario Balotelli, 24, and Divock Origi, 19 – (Lefigaro)
Schalke have rejected rumours that they are pursuing Bayern Munich’s 23-year-old Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, who has also been linked with Tottenham – (Bild)
Lassana Diarra has denied signing a contract with Celtic. Tottenham and QPR are the other teams interested in the 29-year-old midfielder, who plays for Russian side FC Lokomotiv Moscow – (L’equipe)
Juventus have joined Manchester United and Liverpool in the race for Cruzeiro midfielder Everton Ribeiro, 25 – (Tuttosport)
Former Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino says he is unsure if Argentine striker Lionel Messi will reach his best level again – (Marca)
FCM Targu Mures midfielder Gabriel Muresan, 32, has been given a 16-match domestic ban for a violent tackle during a Romanian league match in October – (Guardian)
Damien Comolli says he was sacked as Liverpool’s director of football because the owners did not approve of the £20m signing of midfielder Jordan Henderson, 24 – (Setanta)
West Ham’s England international Andy Carroll, 25, who has not played this season because of an ankle injury, played 60 minutes of a practice match against Southend and could feature against Aston Villa this weekend – (Daily Mail)
Liverpool are set to sign Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa from Malaga after reportedly agreeing to meet his £5million asking price – (Metro)