Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has targeted new deals for Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar after committing his own future to the club.
Cardiff offered Dundee boss Paul Hartley their manager's job, but he turned down the £250,000-a-year gig.
Fans' choice Tony Pulis is not on the Bluebirds' shortlist.
Alan Pardew says he is facing "mass hysteria" from Newcastle fans who are campaigning to get him the sack.
Hull City are leading a nine-club chase for 21-year-old Middlesbrough winger Adam Reach.
THE SUN
Hatem Ben Arfa could cancel his loan move to Hull and return to Newcastle if Alan Pardew is sacked.
Neil Lennon is leading the race for the Fulham job after Felix Magath was sacked.
DAILY EXPRESS
Liverpool and Arsenal are set to bid for Real Madrid star Isco in January.
The Gunners could also move for PSG striker Edinson Cavani.
Angel Di Maria, 26, says he is "grateful" to Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal for giving him his chance at Old Trafford.
DAILY MAIL
Stoke have had no contact from QPR boss Harry Redknapp over Peter Crouch.
QPR boss Harry Redknapp has told Adel Taarabt to lose weight if he wants to become a Premier League star.
DAILY STAR
Bolton want Crystal Palace defender Paddy McCarthy on loan.
THE TIMES
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has expressed an interest in taking charge of Cardiff City.
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Hatem Ben Arfa, 27, could cancel his loan move to Hull and return to Newcastle if Alan Pardew is sacked. (The Sun - subscription required)
Stoke manager Mark Hughes says he has had no contact with QPR counterpart Harry Redknapp regarding striker Peter Crouch, 33. (Daily Mail)
Liverpool and Bayern Munich target Dele Alli, 18, says his performance for MK Dons in the Capital One Cup victory over Manchester United has inspired him to aim to play in the Premier League. (Daily Telegraph)
Liverpool and Arsenal are readying bids for Real Madrid's unwanted playmaker Isco, 22, in the next transfer window. (Daily Express)
The Gunners are also ready to make a January move for unhappy PSG striker Edinson Cavani, 27. (Daily Express)
Hull City are leading a nine-club chase for 21-year-old Middlesbrough winger Adam Reach and are ready to pay £2m to secure his signature. (Daily Mirror)
Bolton want Crystal Palace defender Paddy McCarthy, 31, on loan. (Daily Star)
And Wanderers boss Dougie Freedman says winger Rob Hall, 20 could go out on loan to boost his chances of first-team action. (Sky Sports)
OTHER GOSSIP
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Partizan Belgrade fans after they unveiled an anti-Semitic banner at Thursday's Europa League match. (Daily Star)
Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has expressed an interest in taking charge of Cardiff City after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer resigned. (The Times - subscription required)
But Lennon is also reported to be leading the race for the vacant manager's role at Fulham following Felix Magath's dismissal, with ex-Spurs boss Tim Sherwood his main rival. (The Sun - subscription required)
Dundee manager Paul Hartley, former West Brom boss Steve Clarke and ex-Norwich manager Chris Hughton are among the other names in the frame for the Cardiff job. (Guardian)
Former Manchester City striker Niall Quinn tells "lethargic" Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure, 31, that he needs to prove he is worth a new Manchester City contract. (Talksport)
Angel Di Maria, 26, says he is "grateful" to Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal for giving him his chance at Old Trafford. (Daily Express)
But Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis, 33, says the Dutchman made Bayern Munich "stink" when he took over as manager in 2009. (Independent)
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has targeted new deals for Fabian Delph, 24, and Ron Vlaar, 29, after committing his own future to the club. (Daily Mirror)
Villa defender Alan Hutton, 29, insists assistant manager Roy Keane's 'volcanic' personality has been key to the Birmingham club's impressive start to the Premier League season. (Daily Mail)
West Brom manager Alan Irvine says his squad is finally injury-free, after all 25 members senior players trained ahead of Sunday's trip to Tottenham. (Birmingham Mail)
Alan Pardew believes he is fighting "mass hysteria" as he bids to save his job as Newcastle United manager. (Independent)
But the Magpies' boss has hit back at suggestions he has lost his passion for the club, happy just to see out the remaining years on his long-term contract. (Chronicle)
QPR boss Harry Redknapp has ordered midfielder Adel Taarabt, 25, to lose weight if he wants to become a Premier League star. (Daily Mail)
Redknapp is confident QPR fans will not boo Mark Hughes when the Welshman makes his first return to Loftus Road since being sacked as manager. (Stoke Sentinel)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking's "Wolfman" eyebrows were a social media sensation during his side's Europa League match against Everton on Thursday. (Metro)
As was the appearance of former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, 26, from the Wolfsburg bench. (101 Great Goals)
Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli beat team-mate Raheem Sterling at table tennis and posted a picture on Instagram of the England winger facing the club's traditional under-the-table punishment for losing.
AND FINALLY
Staff at Manchester Dogs' Home believe Balotelli, 24, is behind a mystery five-figure donation they received after 60 dogs were killed at the refuge last week. (Daily Mirror)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Nick Miller
As we now know, the campaign slogan ‘Better Together’ is obviously a hugely inspiring one. How else could you possibly explain the results of the vote in Scotland that the Rumour Mill is waking up to this morning? We assume it was the prospect of a giant, UK-wide hug that persuaded them to stick with this ol’ union, a spirit of togetherness motivated by that slogan, ‘Better Together’. Let’s all help each other out, let’s be grand to each other, let’s just be really nice and stuff.
In that spirit, and with a topical event shoe-horned in as a pathetic attempt capture the zeitgeist, the Rumour Mill would ask all Arsenal fans to stop reading now. It’s only fair on you really, because there is talk, in the paragraphs to come, of Arsène Wenger signing some players that could genuinely help them out and potentially help them become a real force in the Premier League title race, and possibly beyond. These signings will, of course, not happen, so in the spirit of friendship and togetherness, the Rumour Mill suggests that reading any further would just get your hopes up, Gooners, so you shouldn’t. Stop right here. Click away from this page. Do something else. Don’t fill your hearts with the cruellest emotion.
Now those poor whelps have gone, we can tell you that Arsenal are apparently set to make a move for Edinson Cavani in January, the centre-forward seemingly unhappy about playing as the wide man in a 4-3-3 and being subservient to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In the loigic of 2+2 = Arsenal implausibly spending millions on a striker even though we all know that isn’t going to happen, this means a January swoop for the big man.
Elsewhere, there’s talk of Arsenal moving for unwanted Real Madrid midfielder I.S.C.O, with bids encouraged for the boogie-friendly playmaker by the Spanish giants, with Liverpool reportedly keen too. That pair of likely lads/clubs are also scoping out Barcelona’s similarly unwanted winger Pedro, who feels like he’s been on the verge of moving to England since the last time Scotland was an independent country.
Bad news for Hatem Ben Arfa here, who thought he had escaped the Newcastle, even if that was by going on loan to Hull. Apparently, if Alan Pardew is given the Spanish archer sometime soon, which if you’ve been reading the bedsheets held up by assorted angry, Geordies in recent days, will happen pronto, the Toon could cancel Ben Arfa’s loan and bring him back to St James’s at some point in January. Po’ Hatem.
Harry Redknapp would like to be reunited with Peter Crouch, it seems, as he would seemingly like to be reunited with basically any player he has managed in the past, with the possible exception of Marco Boogers. However, Mark Hughes has taken time out from getting annoyed about handshakes to say there’s been no contact on that score. No sireebob.
Suso, the young winger who – if you listened to some of the more spicy Liverpool fans a couple of years ago – was destined to be the best player in the world, is set to move to Milan, apparently. He’s already agreed personal terms, it says here, and all that remains is for a fee to be sorted. Remember when doing things that way round was a big no-no? Salad days.
There are a couple of managerial jobs up for grabs in the Championship, and despite the spectre of perennial 6-1 fourth-favourite Alan Curbishley no doubt intimidating anyone else who might want them, there are a few names being bandied around for Fulham and Cardiff, as the former binned Felix Magath while the latter consciously uncoupled with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Thursday. Neil Lennon is a live contender for the Cardiff gig, along with Dundee boss Paul Hartley, Steve Clarke and Chris Hughton, although Tony Pulis is apparently not in the running, while Lennon is also on Fulham’s list, sharing paper space with Tim Sherwood and Danny Murphy.
Arsenal fans, it’s safe to come back now.
Mail
Alex Song eager to face his 'brother' Mario Balotelli when West Ham host Liverpool
West Ham midfielder Alex Song can't wait to face Mario Balotelli
Hammers set to face Liverpool in evening kick-off on Saturday
Both men returned to the Premier League this summer after stints abroad
Song will urge 'brother' Balotelli not to score against West Ham
By Simeon Gholam
Alex Song has spoken of his excitement at facing Mario Balotelli when Liverpool travel to face West Ham - but will urge his 'brother' not to score against the Hammers on Saturday.
Both players returned to the Premier League this summer after stints abroad, and the Italian scored the first goal of his Reds career in their Champions League victory over Ludogerets in midweek.
And Song, who made his Hammers debut against Hull on Monday night after joining on loan from Barcelona, told The Sun that he can't wait to face Balotelli during Saturday's evening kick-off.
Alex Song faces off with Hull's Gaston Ramirez during his West Ham debut on Monday night
'Mario is a strong player and a strong character. I love him because when people talk about him in a bad way, he can't wait to show people they are wrong.
'He goes out and it's like he says, "Look at me I am a bad guy but I can score a lot of goals".
'During games you want to be the winner and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. You know you have to be an example for the young kids and everyone makes mistakes. When you see guys on the pitch, you can sometimes think they are arrogant but they are not. Outside of football you see a different face on the man.
'I have seen him do lots of things to make people smile. You can't buy smiles. At the World Cup I saw that he was doing lots of things for young people in Brazil, he was helping young kids.
'Last December I went to Guinea for a charity to help the poor and I asked him if he would sign a shirt for me. He said, "Don't worry my brother" and two days later a signed shirt from him and one from Kaka arrived.
'I have not spoken to him yet since I came back but I will talk top him during the game. I will just tell him, "Don't score. Don't score today. You can score every other week - just not today".'
