Friday’s news and transfer rumour roundup.
Manchester City have been told they will have to pay £40m if they want to sign Porto’s attacking midfielder Yacine Brahimi, 25 –(talkSPORT)
Real Madrid are considering a move to take 22-year-old striker Alvaro Morata – a Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United target – back to the Bernabeu from Juventus after one season away – (Daily Express)
Striker Romelu Lukaku, 21, who joined Everton for £28m from Chelsea in the summer, says he plans to leave the Toffees for a “top club” in the future – (Sky Sports)
Swansea City hope to strengthen their squad in the summer by signing Romanian midfielder Alexandru Maxim, 24, from Stuttgart and Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, 20, from Anderlecht – (South Wales Evening Post)
West Ham striker Carlton Cole says a shouting match with boss Sam Allardyce has eased the tension at Upton Park, after he missed out on a £5m contract at West Brom on deadline day – (Daily Mail)
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was photographed in the Vatican City on Thursday after flying to Rome in a bid to sort out a deal for Roma’s Bosnia midfielder Miralem Pjanic, 24 – (Daily Mail)
Paul Lambert told Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner to sack him twice this season before he was finally dismissed as manager on Wednesday by telephone – (Daily Telegraph)
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes says Louis van Gaal’s team is not living up to its attacking ethos and taking enough risks going forward – (Independent)
Celtic boss Ronny Deila believes the English Premier League is boring despite the new £5.1bn television deal – (Daily Record)
Newcastle’s Netherlands right-back Daryl Janmaat, 25, says his team always play positive despite having only one shot on target in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace – (Newcastle Journal)
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, 28, says he could have been playing against the Gunners in the FA Cup this weekend, having turned down a move to Middlesbrough as well as Celtic in 2012 – (Arsenal.com)
Angel Di Maria, 26, is happy at Manchester United despite the ongoing speculation surrounding his future, according to his agent Jorge Mendes – (Daily Express)
Meanwhile the French club have offered centre-half Marquinhos, 20, a new contract to avoid losing him to Manchester United in the summer – (Daily Express)
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri says league leaders Chelsea are “nothing special” – (Guardian)
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, 24, has been working on his fitness by taking boxing tips from Amir Khan and in return he has been teaching the boxer how to play football – (Daily Mirror)
James Milner is considering offers from Arsenal and Liverpool as he closes in on a move away from Manchester City – (Metro)
Chelsea striker Diego Costa has defended his robust style of play, saying he is a ‘strong but noble’ player – (Daily Mirror)
Louis Van Gaal has held crunch talks with the Glazer family as Manchester United’s season continues to stutter – (Daily Star)
Arsene Wenger has admitted he is baffled about Aaron Ramsey’s ongoing injury woes as Arsenal gear up to take on Middlesbrough this weekend without many option is midfield – (Daily Express)
Former Barcelona star Ronaldinho looks set for a move to Africa to join Angolan club Kabuscorp, according to the club’s president – (Sky Sports)
Former Manchester United defender Gerard Pique wants his good mate Cesc Fabregas to lift the Champions League with Chelsea – if Barcelona crash out – (Daily Star)
Roy Hodgson will not discipline Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere after he was criticized for being pictured holding a shisha pipe recently, with the England boss admitting to smoking it himself – (Metro)
Brazil international Miranda insists he is “enjoying” life at Atletico Madrid but refused to rule out a move away from the La Liga champions in the future – (Sky Sports)
Tim Sherwood was last night in the farm to be Paul Lambert’s successor at Aston Villa – yet the appointment of Chris Ramsey at QPR could yet jeopardise his chances – (Daily Express)
The Football Association have investigated the footage of Branislav Ivanovic’s clash with Everton midfielder James McCarthy but will not be taking any further action – (Daily Mirror)