Saturday’s news and transfer rumour gossip.
Manchester United will have to battle Barcelona for the signature of Cristiano Ronaldo next summer after the Catalan side ramped up their interest in the 29-year-old Real Madrid forward – (Daily Star)
Arsenal have set their sights on a move for 27-year-old Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender – (Daily Express)
Liverpool are set to make a £25m bid for Chelsea’s 24-year-old forward Andre Schurrle, but they face stiff competition from Tottenham – (Daily Express)
Manchester United are keen on signing £7.5m Brazilian striker Douglas Coutinho, 20, from Atletico Paranaense – (Daily Mail)
Tottenham are ready to sell 30-year-old Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor in the January transfer window – (Daily Mirror)
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Christoph Kramer, 23 says he is interested in a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Spurs all reported to be keen – (Daily Star)
Out-of-favour West Brom defender Gareth McAuley, 34, admits he is hoping to catch the attention of other clubs with his performances for Northern Ireland in the international window – (Express and Star)
Aston Villa defender Enda Stevens, 24, says he wants to make his loan switch to Doncaster Rovers permanent – (Birmingham Mail)
Manchester City and Chelsea could miss out on reported target Koke of Atletico Madrid, with Barcelona stepping up their attempts to land the 22-year-old Spanish midfielder – (Talksport)
West Brom are prepared to let reserve goalkeeper Luke Daniels, 26, go out on loan – (Sky Sports)
New Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini is weighing up January loan moves for a host of Premier League players, including Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic, 21, Spurs defender Vlad Chiriches, 25, and Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah, 22 – (Football Italia)
However, Nastasic has been offered to Arsenal and Tottenham for a cut-price £5m – (Goal.com)
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has advised his rival for the number 1 jersey, Petr Cech, to seek a move away from the club – (Daily Mail)
England manager Roy Hodgson says Joe Hart’s status as first-choice goalkeeper for the national team is far from guaranteed – (Daily Mirror)
The average Premier League salary has risen to £2.3m – (Telegraph)
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard admits it “kills” him to talk about Wayne Rooney’s achievements at Manchester United – (Independent)
QPR goalkeeper Rob Green says he would like to become a football club chief executive when he stops playing – (Guardian)
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris says the players, not manager Mauricio Pochettino, must take the blame for Spurs’ poor form –(Evening Standard)
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes Wayne Rooney may have cost England their best chance of World Cup success – (Talksport)
Everton defender John Stones is top of the Premier League when it comes to charity work, according to a new report – (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United have signed exciting Canadian striker Josh Doughty from MLS side Real Salt Lake after fending off competition from Barcelona – (Metro)
Wayne Rooney will join an elite band of England greats at Wembley on Saturday evening, but admits he wanted to quit football before his career even started – (Daily Mirror)
Roy Hodgson has sought to downplay rumours of an England injury curse by claiming that Manchester United’s Michael Carrick and Everton’s Leighton Baines brought their problems into camp with them – (Daily Express)
Vicente Del Bosque has revealed that he didn’t want to risk Diego Costa due to the “crippling” nature of groin injuries – (Daily Star)
Werder Bremen general manager Thomas Eichin has ruled out selling his club’s top goalscorer Franco Di Santo, saying the player is happy where he is – (Sky Sports)