Gossip & Transfers

[MH]

Todays Gossip & Transfers from BBC website

Bolton boss Sam Allardyce was the most impressive candidate during interviews for the England job. (The Sun)

Lyon will make a fresh bid to sign Chelsea striker Didier Drogba after the World Cup this summer. (The Sun)

Ex-Fulham boss Jean Tigana says he missed out on the French manager's job because there were too many black players in the team. (The Sun)

Celtic want Middlesbrough midfielder George Boateng as a replacement for Irishman Roy Keane. (The Sun)

Blackburn have joined the race to sign Liverpool's Robbie Fowler. (The Sun)

Niall Quinn will open talks with Sunderland chairman Bob Murray to launch his takeover bid by the end of next week. (Daily Express)

Celtic have made an approach to take Arsenal teenager Theo Walcott on loan next season. (Daily Express)

Chelsea will soon be the subject of an official complaint from Leeds over alleged illegal approaches for two of their young stars. (Daily Mail)

Former Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli wants to return to the Premiership next season. (Daily Mail)

Birmingham, Bolton and Middlesbrough are watching South Africa defender Sibusiso Zuma, currently with German side Arminia Bielefeld. (Daily Mail)

Spurs will offload defenders Noureddine Naybet and Goran Bunjevcevic at the end of this season to make way for Chelsea full-back Wayne Bridge. (Daily Mirror)

Mikele Leigertwood could leave Crystal Palace in the summer. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will partly fund the £1.5m-a-season contract of new Russian manager, Dutchman Guus Hiddink. (Daily Mirror)

Ipswich boss Joe Royle is warned by chairman David Sheepshanks that he will be sacked if he does not get the club promoted next season. (Daily Mirror)

Neil Lennon is set to sign a new one-year deal at Celtic (Daily Record)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/default.stm

[MH]

England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson will ban his players from a casino near their World Cup headquarters in Baden-Baden. (News of the World)

Kevin Campbell will be offered a player-coach role at the Hawthorns next season. (News of the World)

Spurs are being linked with South Africa and Borussia Dortmund striker Delron Buckley. (News of the World)

Wigan striker Henri Camara says he turned down a move to Chelsea before joining Wolves. (News of the World)

Nobby Solano is one of 10 players set to leave Newcastle at the end of this season. (News of the World)

West Ham want Charlton full-back Luke Young. (Sunday Mirror)

Arsenal are targeting Spurs midfielder Michael Carrick. (News of the World)

Liverpool have opened talks with Deportivo La Coruna midfielder Victor. (News of the World)

Aston Villa want to buy Wolves defender Joleon Lescott. (News of the World)

Cardiff have joined the race to sign Celtic striker John Hartson, who wants to return south. (News of the World)

Blackburn striker Craig Bellamy has a £6m get-out clause in his contract which would let him join a club in the Champions League. (News of the World)

Derby teenager Giles Barnes is being targeted by Newcastle, Everton and Liverpool. (The People)

Newcastle's James Millner has agreed a deal to move to Aston Villa on a permanent basis. (The People)

Liverpool want Florent Sinama-Pongolle, currently on loan to Blackburn, back next season. (The People)

Bayer Leverkusen striker Dimitar Berbatov is being tracked by Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs. (The People)

Newcastle want to sign Middlesbrough's George Boateng. (The People)

Luton's Kevin Foley is wanted by Aston Villa, Spurs and Fulham. (The People)

Coventry's Stephen Hughes is wanted by Southampton and Ipswich. (The People)

Newcastle are in talks with gaming company Mansion House and their stadium could be re-named the Mansion at St James'. (Sunday Mirror)

Charlton want Colchester boss Phil Parkinson to replace Alan Curbishley next season. (Sunday Mirror)

Curbishley is out of the running for the England manager's job. (Daily Star)

Arsenal want Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero to replace the retiring Dennis Bergkamp at the end of the season. (Daily Star)

Southampton want to sign Hearts winger Rudi Skacel. (Daily Star)

Watford want to sign Ipswich winger Darren Currie and his team-mate Dean McDonald in the summer. (Daily Star)

Bolton are interested in Espanyol's Ivan de la Pena. (Daily Star)

The actor who played Ian Beale's son in Eastenders, Eddie Savage, has joined Wycombe. (The Mail on Sunday)

[MH]

Fulham are targeting Hearts' Czech midfielder Rudi Skacel. (Daily Mirror)

Man Utd midfielder Ji-Sung Park had his Kia car vandalised by team-mates because it was not a match for their own motors. (Daily Express)

Man City midfielder Joey Barton is in trouble for turning up late for rehab on his injured knee. (Daily Express)

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has turned down 'massive offers' to write a book about his five-and-a-half years at Soho Square. (Daily Mail)

Fifa have granted the four clubs in the Championship play-offs special permission to keep their World Cup players for an extra week. (Daily Mail)

Neil Warnock will be offered a two-year deal and a transfer budget of nearly £10m following Sheffield United's promotion. (The Guardian)

[MH]

Wednesday 19th April

Arsenal star Thierry Henry says he won't be rushed into making a decision on his Gunners future. (various)

England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson expects to find a new job in the next few weeks and is likely to take charge of either South Africa or Real Madrid. (The Sun)

Michael Ballack is stalling over Chelsea's £25m offer because he wants a guaranteed first-team place at Stamford Bridge next season. (Daily Express)

Racism among players or fans could cost teams three points in the World Cup under new Fifa regulations. (various)

World Cup referees will earn $40,000 (£22,690) at this year's tournament, a rise of 100%. (various)

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has played down rumours that Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is top of their shopping list. (Daily Telegraph)

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd could reward caretaker boss Glenn Roeder with the position of director of football if another manager is signed for next season. (Daily Star)

Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier is interested in taking on the Newcastle manager's job. (Daily Mirror)

Liverpool frontman Florent Sinama-Pongolle is set to quit Anfield if boss Rafa Benitez signs any more strikers. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland chairman Bob Murray is confident the club will not have to sell players to cope with the financial repercussions of relegation. (The Independent)

Everton defender Matteo Ferrari hopes his loan move from AS Roma will be extended by another season. (The Times)

Liverpool are expected to finalise a pre-contract agreement with Valencia full-back Fabio Aurelio. (The Times)

Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe's position is under threat following another share-buying spree from property magnate Michael Wilde. (Daily Star)

Pascal Chimbonda has revealed he has a verbal agreement with Wigan boss Paul Jewell he can leave next month. (Daily Mirror)

Santos defender Zvenyika Makonsese is interested in joining Wigan. (The Independent)

Derby are to offer wonderkid Giles Barnes, 17, a new contract to fend off the approaches of Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle. (Daily Star)

Mick McCarthy could become the new Derby boss if a new consortium completes a successful takeover. (Daily Mail)


Former Sunderland star Niall Quinn will know by the end of the week if his consortium can take over the Black Cats. (The Sun)

Premiership-bound Sheffield United are lining up a summer move for Leeds reserve keeper Ian Bennett. (The Sun)

Sheffield Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock has been promised £2m to spend for keeping the Owls in the Championship. (various)

Nantes midfielder Jeremy Toulalan has decided to join French champions Lyon instead of Rangers in the summer. (Daily Express)

Shunsuke Nakamura hints he is keen to extend his deal with Celtic. (various)

Aberdeen will decide this week on the future of defender Danny Griffin and midfielder Neil Macfarlane. (various)

Cash-strapped Dundee want to pay off Scotland defender Lee Wilkie, whose career is under threat after suffering a third cruciate ligament injury in as many years. (The Sun)

[MH]

Arsene Wenger is urging his team to enjoy their crucial Champions League tie against Villarreal.

With hours go until the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, he insisted no-one will be taking the challenge of the Spanish side lightly.

"We want to just enjoy it, be up for it and love it because we have waited for so long to be there," the coach said.

The game also marks Arsenal's last European match at home before their move to Ashburton Grove.

Wenger has also picked out the playmaker Riquelme as the key man for the opposition.

"Riquelme is a kind of quarterback to call on when it is needed. Diego Forlan is the runner and they have Juan Pablo Sorin too," added Wenger, whose side now having kept a record eight straight clean sheets in Europe.

"It means they are a team that has technical tricks, tactical knowledge, yet can slow the game down and wait for a weak moment."

Team news: Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has recovered from a bruised foot but Jose Antonio Reyes is suspended, while Freddie Ljungberg is expected to return to the squad.

Meanwhile, Villarreal's first-choice centre-backs Gonzalo Rodriguez and Juan Manuel Pena are both ruled out.

Latest team news:
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has recovered from a bruised foot but Jose Antonio Reyes is suspended, while Freddie Ljungberg is expected to return to the squad.

Meanwhile, Villarreal's first-choice centre-backs Gonzalo Rodriguez and Juan Manuel Pena are both ruled out.

Weather news: Cloud and rain will spread south-east during the day - moderate south-west winds and a maximum Temperature of 15 Deg C.

Wednesday evening will see even more cloudy weather with rain or drizzle at times and gentle southerly winds.

Newspaper headlines: Wednesday's newspapers all lead with French striker Thierry Henry reluctant to talk about whether he will quit the Gunners in the summer.

[MH]

http://i3.tinypic.com/vxm9hl.jpg

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry insists he does not owe the fans an early decision over his future.
Henry, 28, is yet to renew his deal, which ends in 2007, and has been linked with a move to Spanish side Barcelona.

"Who do I owe, and for what?" said Henry. "Don't you see my commitment on the pitch?

"I'm a human being and need time to take my decision. I don't think about the word 'owe'. I owe something to my Dad, yes, who put me on this planet."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger rejected the idea that winning the Champions League would actually spur Henry to leave in search of fresh challenges.

But Wenger added that winning titles was not the only reason for a player to choose a club.

"The best way to keep your best players is always to win but it is not enough," said Wenger.

"There is more to it to than that. When you commit yourself to a club for a long period it is not just about winning.

"It is because you share the right values with the club and you play the kind of football you love to play. I like to think that is a better reason to stay here."

Frenchman Henry is Arsenal's all-time record scorer with 207 goals in seven years at Highbury.

He eclipsed Ian Wright's mark of 185 goals against Sparta Prague in October.