Paper Talk
Chelsea are prepared to pay a £200m contract-release clause to sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
On-loan Radamel Falcao wants to remain at Manchester United beyond the end of the season.
Arsenal have had a £5m bid for 22-year-old Dinamo Zagreb star Marcelo Brozovic rejected, with Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham, AC Milan and Valencia also linked with the midfielder.
On-loan Tom Cleverley would prefer to join Everton on a permanent deal rather than remaining with Aston Villa.
Norwich striker Luciano Becchio wants to return to fellow Championship club Leeds United.
The Premier League will start a week earlier next season to ensure fewer matches are played over the Christmas and New Year periods.
Stoke are on the verge of capturing Bayern Munich's Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri for £16m.
Arsenal are set to make a £4m move for 17-year-old midfielder Krystian Bielik, after an initial £2.4m bid was rejected by his Polish club Legia Warsaw.
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson could miss out on signing 23-year-old Croatian Andrej Kramaric who had looked set to join the Foxes from HNK Rijeka for £9.5m.
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard reckons fellow midfielder Jordan Henderson, 24, is the perfect choice to become the club's next captain.
Tottenham winger Andros Townsend insists he does not want to leave White Hart Lane during the transfer window by saying: "I'm a Spurs boy. I've been at the club since the age of eight."
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is targeting Dutchman Frank de Boer to replace Alan Pardew who left last week to manage Crystal Palace.
Manchester United agree Victor Valdes deal - and plot a shock move for Newcastle keeper Tim Krul if they lose David de Gea.
Romelu Lukaku wants Everton to tailor their tactics to suit his own style of play - in other words be more direct.
Tottenham are hoping they can offload Emmanuel Adebayor during the transfer window - possibly to MLS.
Suso's agent claims the Spanish forward has agreed a four-year deal to join AC Milan from Liverpool.
Manchester United are hoping to tie down David de Gea to a new longer deal in a bid to prevent Real Madrid from getting their hands on the 24-year-old Spanish keeper.
Sunderland's Jozy Altidore is attracting interest from three MLS clubs - Toronto, Portland and New York Red Bulls.
West Brom want to sign Blackburn's French striker Rudy Gestede.
Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi has asked the side's players if they still want manager Stuart Pearce at the club after a run of only two wins in 19 games.
Manchester United have made an offer for German central defender Mats Hummels - but struggling Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund insist the 26-year-old is not for sale.
Greek side Olympiakos have made an attempt to sign Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, 24, on loan until the end of the season.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, could leave the club at the end of the season and has been linked with a move across London to Premier League rivals Arsenal.
Alan Pardew may have left his job as Newcastle United manager after being told by owner Mike Ashley that he intends to sell the North East club.
Liverpool have earmarked James Milner of Manchester City as a possible replacement for Steven Gerrard who is departing for LA Galaxy in the summer.
Swansea are keeping tabs on Watford striker Matej Vydra.
Tottenham are ready to offer Emmanuel Adebayor, 30, to MLS clubs so they can make new signings.
Liverpool and England striker Rickie Lambert, 32, is a transfer target for new Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew.
Aberdeen will not fine their striker Niall McGinn for being seen sitting among Celtic supporters during the Hoops' league match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Monday.
New Charlton signing Tony Watts admits he was frustrated at Belgian club Standard Liege saying: "Glad to get out of Belgium and back in the UK."
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Chelsea are prepared to pay a £200m contract-release clause to sign Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, 27. (Daily Star)
Liverpool want to buy Manchester City and England midfielder James Milner. The 29-year-old's contract expires at the end of the season. (Times, subscription required)
Manchester United have made an offer for German central defender Mats Hummels, but Borussia Dortmund say the 26-year-old is not for sale. (Daily Express)
Meanwhile, United will accelerate contract talks with goalkeeper David De Gea, 24, after agreeing an 18-month deal with World Cup winner Victor Valdes. (Daily Mail).
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, could leave the club at the end of the season and has been linked with a move across London to Arsenal. (Telegraph)
England winger Andros Townsend, 23, insists his long-term future is at Tottenham despite being consistently linked with a move away from White Hart Lane. (London Evening Standard)
Arsenal have had a £5m bid for Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Marcelo Brozovic rejected. Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham, AC Milan and Valencia also want to sign the 22-year-old. (Daily Star)
Liverpool and England striker Rickie Lambert, 32, has emerged as an early transfer target for new Crystal Palace manager, Alan Pardew. (Guardian)
Aston Villa have opened talks with Manchester City about signing winger Scott Sinclair, 25. (Sky Sports)
Greek side Olympiakos have made an attempt to sign Liverpool's Italy striker Mario Balotelli, 24, on loan until the end of the season. (Daily Express)
Liverpool midfielder Suso, 21, is set to join AC Milan on a four-year deal, with the move likely to go through either in January or the summer. (Talksport)
Tottenham are ready to offer Emmanuel Adebayor, 30, to MLS clubs so they can refresh their strikeforce. (Times, subscription required)
Manchester United look set to miss out on highly-rated Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard, 16, who may move to Real Madrid. (Manchester Evening News)
Ipswich are set to sign Republic of Ireland striker Noel Hunt on Thursday on a free transfer. The 32-year-old, who was released by Leeds on Wednesday, had a loan spell at Portman Road earlier in the season. (East Anglian Daily Times)
Arsenal are set to make a £4m move for 17-year-old midfielder Krystian Bielik, after a £2.4m bid was rejected by his Polish club Legia Warsaw earlier this week. (Sun, subscription required)
Sunderland are one of a number of clubs looking at Celtic's £8m-rated centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 23. (Newcastle Evening Chronicle)
Remi Garde, 48, is keen to join Newcastle United as the club's new head coach - and is hoping to speak to managing director Lee Charnley this week to confirm his interest in the position. (The Northern Echo)
OTHER GOSSIP
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, whose side are top of the Championship, has no interest in succeeding Alan Pardew as manager of Newcastle United. (Talksport)
Ajax boss Frank De Boer is Newcastle's top target to replace Pardew, but the Dutchman will not take over at St James' Park until the summer. (Daily Mirror)
Pardew may have left his job because he was told by the club's owner Mike Ashley that he is going to sell them. (Telegraph)
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, 34, reckons fellow midfielder Jordan Henderson, 24, is the perfect choice to become the club's next captain. (Sun, subscription required)
The Premier League will start a week earlier next season to ensure fewer matches are played over the Christmas and New Year periods. (Daily Star)
Nottingham Forest owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi has asked the side's players if they still want manager Stuart Pearce at the club after a run of only two wins in 19 games. (Daily Mail)
Former Everton winger Pat Nevin fears his old club will be in a relegation battle at the end of the season. (Liverpool Echo)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Burnley defender Kevin Long suffered a terrible knee injury against Newcastle, which has needed surgery. "Operation went well. Morphine is awesome," tweeted the 24-year-old, who will be out for the season.
Explaining his loan move from West Ham to QPR, striker Mauro Zarate tweeted "I am very happy, it's an assignment for six months, but it's something I needed, and I want to play."
Liverpool defender Jose Enrique posts pictures on social media of him and his team-mates at a birthday party for Martin Skrtel, who turned 30 on 15 December.
And with Celebrity Big Brother returning to our screens on Wednesday, here is what Hull midfielder David Meyler tweeted on the subject: "There's more of a chance of me signing for Real Madrid than watching Celebrity Big Brother!"
AND FINALLY...
Chelsea missed the chance to sign Eden Hazard for £100,000 when he was 16. The Belgium attacking midfielder, now 24, eventually joined the Blues for £32m in 2012. (Metro)
Brazil defender Dante is still the butt of jokes from his Bayern Munich team-mates over his country's 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat by Germany last summer. (Daily Mirror)
Guardian Rumour Mill
John Ashdown
Here’s a sentence you won’t read very often: poor old Barcelona. It’s all going wrong at Camp Nou. And no wonder – look at them, languishing a whole point behind Real Madrid. No one seems to like Luis Enrique, Leo Messi wants out, elections have been brought forward … it’s chaos, chaos I tells yer.
Which is good news for the Premier League’s big beasts. Not only is Messi edging towards the exit like a rabbit who’s just discovered the party he’s at is actually an all-fox affair, but Luis Suárez could be coming back to the Premier League. Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are “monitoring” the Uruguayan (perhaps via some sort of sonar equipment) and are hoping Barça’s next president, whoever that may be, will be prepared to let him leave.
Heading in the other direction could be David de Gea, with the Manchester United goalkeeper wanted by both Barça and Real Madrid. If he does depart, Louis van Gaal wants his World Cup penalty shootout trickshot Tim Krul to replace him. And in other goalkeeping news, Arsenal fancy bringing in Petr Cech after losing patience with smokin’ Wojciech Szczesny.
Also looking to swap something erratic for something rather more reliable are Liverpool, who have gone all weak at the knees over Manchester City’s James Milner, while Mario Balotelli could be off to Olympiakos on loan until the end of the season.
Down in the lower reaches of the Premier League table, West Brom want Blackburn striker Rudy “A Message To You, Rudy” Gestede to spearhead their battle against relegation, Sunderland want Celtic’s £8m-rated Virgil van Dijk to shore up their defence and Aston Villa want Manchester City’s Scott Sinclair to … no, we’re not sure on that one.
If MLS fans thought they had had enough excitement for one week, then they’ll have think again. Break out the bunting, pop those champagne corks and gather at the airport – Emmanuel Adebayor could be heading to a club near you soon. Because Spurs have had enough of him.
And back across north London, Arsenal are getting the hump after having two bids knocked back this week. Dinamo Zagreb have turned their noses up at a £5m bid for 22-year-old midfielder Marcelo Brozovic and Legia Warsaw have been similarly unimpressed by a £2.4m offer for 17-year-old wunderkind Krystian Bielek.
Mail
West Ham open to loaning out Diego Poyet as Watford eye move for midfielder
Diego Poyet has only made four appearances for West Ham this season
West Ham are keen for him to get first-team football on loan
Watford and Huddersfield are bot interested in taking the midfielder
By Simon Jones
West Ham United midfielder Diego Poyet is wanted on loan by Championship side Watford.
The 19-year-old has made four appearances since his summer move from Charlton and came on as a substitute for Matt Jarvis in Tuesday night's FA Cup draw with Everton at Goodison Park.
Poyet (right) challenges Ross Barkley during the FA Cup third round clash on Tuesday
He had a loan spell with Huddersfield earlier in the season and they are interested too.
Watford, however, are fifth in the Championship, seven points off leaders Bournemouth, and believe a couple of shrewd acquisitions this month could give them the extra edge required to challenge for promotion.
West Ham are open to the loan as they want Poyet to keep developing and he needs competitive games for that to happen.
OS
Adrian earns Mimms praise
Bobby Mimms believes Adrian is performing as well as any goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League
Adrian is performing as well as any goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League at present, according to West Ham United coach Bobby Mimms.
Mimms has worked closely with the Spaniard since his arrival at the Hammers in October, and has been hugely impressed by Adrian's attitude, ability and all-round approach to his craft.
The 28-year-old has responded by producing a string of eye-catching performances. Going into Saturday's trip to Swansea City, Adrian has made 65 saves in the Barclays Premier League goalkeeper this season, level with the Swans' own Lukasz Fabianski and second only to Queens Park Rangers' former West Ham stopper Robert Green (73).
While he has been kept busy, Mimms says the former Real Betis man has been up to the task repeatedly when called upon.
"Adrian is doing really well," the goalkeeper coach confirmed. "Since I came to the Club, he has performed pretty consistently and over the Christmas period some of his performances were top-class.
"I don't think there is anybody performing in the Premier League as well and as consistently as Adrian at the moment, so long may that continue.
"We will keep working out there on the training pitch and hopefully he can carry that into the games."
Of his 65 saves, Adrian has made three from shots unleashed inside his six-yard box and 31 apiece from inside and outside his penalty area.
When you factor in his accurate distribution over short and long distances, it is easy to see why Mimms is among a growing number of people who rate the Seville-born goalkeeper as one of the best in English football at present.
He will get another chance to prove his credentials when West Ham travel to Wales to face Swansea on Saturday, with kick-off at the Liberty Stadium at 3pm. You can catch live coverage of the match on whufc.com and across our social media channels.
London24
West Ham: Our verdict on the season so far
Dave Evans
Which Hammer is the leader of our average ratings table halfway through this successful campaign
There are few that could have predicted the fortunes of West Ham in the first half of this season.
Manager Sam Allardyce was supposed to be down the road, Andy Carroll was injured in pre-season training and then Tottenham beat the Hammers at Upton Park on the opening day of the season.
Not too promising then and the knives were out for the manager already and so the transformation of the club into one vying for a place in Europe is a quite remarkable one.
A lot of the credit has to go to the owners who put their hands deep into their pockets to bring in some quality players.
A lot of the rest has to go down to luck.
What chance that all the summer signings were able to hit the ground running?
Diafra Sakho was a last minute signing and one for the back-up squad who has become a star.
What chance that a new system, stumbled upon because of the injury to Carroll would be such a great success and turn Stewart Downing back into an international player?
West Ham have had plenty of memorable days already this term.
Few will forget the wins over Liverpool and Manchester City at Upton Park, The come-from-behind victories over West Brom and Swansea City have been something that West Ham teams of old could only dream of.
When you have the likes of Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis and Carlton Cole on the bench, you know that you have strength in depth and this is probably the strongest squad that West Ham have brought together since . . . well, I don’t know.
Of course, not everything is smooth. The manager has had to deal with discontentment among those not playing, with the frustrated Mauro Zarate a case in point.
Average Ratings
8 James Tomkins
7.46 Diafra Sakho
7.43 Alex Song
7.35 Stewart Downing
7.25 Adrian
7.11 Andy Carroll
7.05 Winston Reid
7 James Collins, Joey O’Brien, Mauro Zarate
6.95 Aaron Cresswell
6.94 Cheikhou Kouyate
6.85 Mark Noble
6.76 Enner Valencia
6.75 Carl Jenkinson
6.67 Matt Jarvis
6.58 Kevin Nolan
6.5 Morgan Amalfitano, Guy Demel, Ravel Morrison, Diego Poyet
6.4 Carlton Cole
6.25 Ricardo Vaz Te
(Qualification - two games)
When you are winning, that is not a huge problem, but with no wins in the last three games, those grumbles become more vocal and more difficult to ignore.
Sitting in fourth place not long ago, the expectations among fans got higher and higher, but those have been tamed a little by the Christmas matches with two defeats against Arsenal and Chelsea and a dismal draw with West Brom at Upton Park.
There have been so many plus points so far though.
Adrian has been superb in goal in the last month, Winston Reid has returned to his best with James Tomkins a shining light alongside him.
Man of the Match Awards
5 Stewart Downing
4 Adrian
2 James Tomkins
2 Mauro Zarate
2 Mark Noble
1 Cheikhou Kouyate
1 Alex Song
1 Diafra Sakho
1 Kevin Nolan
1 Andy Carroll
1 Enner Valencia
1 Reece Burke
The influence of two new full backs in Carl Jenkinson and Aaron Cresswell has been a revelation and an absolutely integral part of the new structure in the team.
Alex Song is perhaps the best capture of the season by any club, while Sakho and Enner Valencia have added much-needed pace to the forward line and Stewart Downing has been at the heart of most things and even scored four goals.
This is a very different West Ham side to the one that almost cost Allardyce his job last summer and the supporters are just loving it.
The Best and the Worst
Best performance so far:
West Ham 2 Manchester City 1
Worst performance:
West Ham 1 Southampton 3
Best goal:
Enner Valencia v Hull City
Best individual performances:
1. Alex Song v Manchester City (below)
2. Andy Carroll v Swansea City
3. Mark Noble v Liverpool
So where do the Hammers go from here?
The requirement at the start of the season was for West Ham to play more exciting, attacking football and to finish in the top 10.
They have certainly managed the first of those and now it is a question of holding on to the second.
Thankfully there is no chance of relegation for the Hammers this year (surely!), but the question is, will West Ham come down with the Christmas decorations?
The last three matches have suggested that they will find it hard to match their performances from the first half of the campaign.
Although they played well against Arsenal and were unlucky in defeat, their negative display at Chelsea and lacklustre one against West Brom suggests that they are at a crossroads in their season.
The loss of Diafra Sakho to injury, Cheikhou Kouyate and possibly Alex Song to the African Cup of Nations will stretch the squad to its limits.
Allowing Mauro Zarate to go out on loan will not help matters. He may have clashed with manager Sam Allardyce about not playing, but when he has appeared he has looked pacy and tricky and scored two goals.
With Sakho out, Zarate will be missed all the more and the pressure will be on Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia to keep their form.
There are some tough game to come in January and February with the Hammers coming up against the likes of Liverpool, Southampton and Tottenham away as well as Manchester United at home.
But despite all that this is a West Ham squad still full of confidence and with the quality to test everyone in the Premier League on their day.
They must keep up that attacking, positive outlook though. There must be no return to the one up front, cautious approach that has hamstrung Allardyce’s teams in the past.
They have fought their way into a good position in the table and now they have the freedom to keep playing this style of football.
They should make the top 10, but just how brave they are and how much luck they get will tell us exactly how high they can finish.
Sabotage Times
West Ham And QPR Eyeing French International Striker
The French Andy Carroll?
According to Get French Football, a host of Premier League clubs have made enquiries for Marseille’s soon-to-be out of contract striker André Pierre Gignac.
Infamous agent Willie McKay, who has a number of players on his books at West Ham and QPR, is continuing with his trend of bringing Ligue 1 stars to the Premier League, with Gignac the latest target.
It’s understood that West Ham have been scouting the 29-year-old forward for some time, and could be tempted to make a move with key man Diafra Sakho out injured.
Jack Sullivan @jsullivanwhu
Anyone who has read the Evening Standard seen the article 'Sullivan son it Twitter rant' It was NOT me it was my brother!
Premier League Owl
Mauro Zarate's curious West Ham departure
by SebSB
It would be quite contrary to question Sam Allardyce's job performance this season. West Ham have generally been brilliant and their league position is a product of their manager's willingness to move away from his own philosophy and towards a system which is far more aesthetically pleasing and, most importantly, more effective.
Still though, the decision to loan Mauro Zarate to Queens Park Rangers this month feels like a very Allardyce moment.
David Sullivan made some interesting comments last week. First, he revealed that he had agreed a deal for Wilfried Bony before Allardyce opted for Andy Carroll and the Ivorian signed for Swansea. Then, probably to his manager's embarrassment, he admitted that the inspired acquisition of Diafra Sakho was his decision and that Allardyce had actually lobbied for Connor Wickham instead.
Connor Wickham. Ouch.
That paints quite an ambiguous picture of just how West Ham arrived in this situation. This site has published a lot of negative Sam Allardyce articles in the past, so I accept that this is going to sound rather contrived, but doesn't it seem as if he's been dragged kicking and screaming up the table by the better judgement of those above and around him?
If Allardyce had been afforded autonomy over the club's transfer strategy, would this side be anything like as diverse as it is or would it just be a collection of formulaic, over-priced English players?
At a guess, Mauro Zarate wasn't Allardyce's signing, either.
"I base my feelings on what I consider to be the best team. It's a professional, clinical decision, not an emotional one. Mauro is not good enough to play as regularly as he wants compared to the others. It's as simple as that."
Zarate is a notoriously difficult personality. His career-to-date suggests that he's a highly-combustible character and that he is difficult to manage. But not good enough? This is a player who can play as a centre-forward or in a range of attacking-midfield positions and who undeniably provides this squad with something unique. His stature may not be ideal for English football, but his technical ability should make him an asset to West Ham - whether from the start of games or from the substitutes' bench.
Stewart Downing has been a revelation in a more central role this year, but he can't be expected to sustain his level of performance across a thirty-eight game season. Superficially, not only was Zarate an alternative to Downing, but he was also different to any other attacking player at the club - and, as such, surely he had a value?
If Downing tweaks a hamstring at some point, then what is the contingency plan? Kevin Nolan?
When this decision was made, Allardyce was theoretically about to lose Cheik Kouyate, Diafra Sakho and Alex Song to the Africa Cup of Nations. As it happens, only Kouyate will be taking part in the tournament, but that only became apparent after Zarate's departure was sanctioned.
How bizarre; no, he doesn't provide cover in central midfield, but would have given West Ham essential depth at a time when their squad was likely to be stretched.
There's something not right here. At a guess, Zarate "isn't good enough" in the same way that Ravel Morrison wasn't.
If he helps to drag QPR up the table and if West Ham start to slide down it, expect this topic to return with a vengeance.
