Paper Talk
Atletico Madrid director Andrea Berta has flown to London to try to land Chelsea stars Pedro and Diego Costa.
Manchester United have denied claims they are planning a sensational swoop to stop Pep Guardiola's move to neighbours City.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is wanted by Russian club Zenit St Petersberg.
Arsene Wenger has warned his men to stay calm in their "battle" with Diego Costa when Arsenal and Chelsea meet on Sunday.
Liverpool are poised to halt Chelsea's move for Brazil ace Alex Teixeira.
Nicklas Bendtner is set for a sensational Premier League return at Crystal Palace.
Manchester United have made a dramatic move to snatch Pep Guardiola from neighbours City.
Cristiano Ronaldo could be close to the exit door after it emerged the club did lie about Gareth's Bale's transfer fee.
Schalke's Leroy Sane has been urged by his manager to snub Premier League giants like Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool and pursue a move to La Liga.
Fernando Torres could be on the move again - with eight clubs chasing his signature and one having offered a contract which would make him the highest-paid player in the world.
Real Madrid defender Nacho is being chased by a host of clubs after it emerged his future at the Bernabeu remains unclear.
Jack Grealish will not be leaving Aston Villa on loan in January, says boss Remi Garde.
Chelsea face a battle to convince Nemanja Matic he has a future at Stamford Bridge, while John MNikel Obi is wanted by Shanghai SIPG.
Fulham striker Ross McCormack, a £9m transfer target for Middlesbrough, is set to tell the club he wants to leave.
Newcastle are considering alternatives as their bid for Saido Berahino drags on, with Swansea's Bafetimbi Gomis an option, while Aston Villa's Scott Sinclair is also on their radar.
Bournemouth are showing an interest in Peterborough defender Jack Baldwin.
Wolves are in talks over a £3m deal for Nantes forward Emiliano Sala.
Nottingham Forest are holding talks with Rennes over a loan deal for striker Habib Habibou.
Middlesbrough have had a £6m bid for QPR winger Matt Phillips rejected.
Chelsea and Liverpool are going head to head for free-scoring Shakhtar forward Alex Teixeira.
Manchester United have put major transfers on hold because of the increasing uncertainty over Louis van Gaal's future.
Manuel Pellegrini could have the consolation of a job offer from Zenit St Petersburg this summer.
Stoke have submitted a club record £19m bid for Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula.
Premier League strugglers Swansea have tabled a bid for Blackburn forward Jordan Rhodes.
Norwich want to sign Chelsea's rising star Patrick Bamford.
Dynamo Kiev have told Everton to forget about trying to sign Andriy Yarmolenko this month.
Liverpool's are demanding £3m for teenage striker Jerome Sinclair.
Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has been in Florida holding talks about signing Shakhtar Donetsk winger Alex Teixeira.
Newcastle United have threatened to pull the plug on deals for Tottenham winger Andros Townsend and West Brom striker Saido Berahino.
Gareth Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, has demanded an investigation after confidential documents were leaked revealing the Wales international's world record fee.
The Football Association launched an astonishing attack on Britain's most senior anti-doping official yesterday, following her claims that "something doesn't feel right" about the sport.
Crystal Palace are considering offering a six-month contract to striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 31, who is a free agent after being released by Tottenham.
Liverpool still have a chance of signing Brazil international Alexandre Pato, according to the forward's agent.
BBC
Manchester United have put their major transfers on hold because of the increasing uncertainty over Louis van Gaal's future as manager. (Daily Mirror)
Alexandre Pato's agent has confirmed that four clubs - including Chelsea and Liverpool - have a chance of signing the 26-year-old Brazil striker, but insisted that no bids have yet been made. (UOL Esporte, in Portuguese)
Tottenham have the first option to re-sign Wales forward Gareth Bale, 26, should he be sold by Real Madrid - according to a leaked document. (Daily Mirror)
Meanwhile, Bale's representatives are outraged by the leak of financial details of his £85m transfer. (Daily Telegraph)
European football writer Andy Brassell says Shakhtar Donetsk value 26-year-old Brazilian forward Alex Teixeira at £39m - significantly more than the £24.5m Liverpool are willing to pay for him. (BBC Radio 5 live)
Zenit St Petersburg want Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini to take charge when Andre Villas-Boas leaves at the end of the season. (Daily Star)
Defender Branislav Ivanovic, 31, is set to sign a new one-year contract at Chelsea, in a deal which will match his current wage of £120,000 a week and has the option of a further year. (Daily Express)
But midfielder Nemanja Matic, 27, is debating his future at Stamford Bridge and may choose to leave the Blues after a recent dip in form. (Daily Mail)
Manchester United have taken 15-year-old Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Mrozek on trial. (Przeglad Sportowy, via Daily Express)
Meanwhile, United are considering ending their interest in Lazio's Felipe Anderson as they are put off by the 22-year-old Brazil midfielder's price tag and recent form. (Bleacher Report)
Fernando Torres could soon be the highest-paid player in the world, with eight offers on the table according to his agent. The 31-year-old Spain striker is on loan at Atletico Madrid from AC Milan. (Sun)
Crystal Palace are considering offering a six-month contract to striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 31, who is a free agent after being released by Tottenham. (Guardian)
Former Brazil midfielder Ronaldinho, 35, says he has no plans to retire and will look for a new club after celebrating the Rio carnival in February. (Goal.com)
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce has revealed he is looking for two outfield players and a goalkeeper, but refused to confirm whether he wants to sign Swansea striker Andre Ayew, 26. (Chronicle Live)
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren has made a £7m bid for Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis, 30. (Sun)
However, Newcastle look likely to end their interest in Andros Townsend after Tottenham refused to lower their £14m valuation of the 24-year-old England winger. (Guardian)
Former Nottingham Forest boss Stuart Pearce has not spoken to Bristol City about the Championship side's managerial vacancy, despite being heavily linked with the role. (Talksport)
Leeds United have submitted two written bids for January transfer targets, following the £3.7m sale of full-back Sam Byram, 22, to West Ham. (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Fulham midfielder Scott Parker, 35, is considering a move into coaching or management if he retires from playing at the end of the season. (Guardian)
Best of social media
Fenerbahce striker Emmanuel Emenike, 28, fuelled speculation about a possible switch to West Ham after he posted a screenshot from Green Street on Instagram - a film which portrays a group of Hammers-supporting hooligan fans.
And finally...
Wayne Rooney took charge of Manchester United's half-time team-talk in last weekend's game against Liverpool, in which he scored the late winner. Players in the home dressing room reportedly heard shouting across the corridor at Anfield. (Sun)
Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has revealed that his father drives him every day from his Essex home to training at League One side Coventry City, a round trip of more than 200 miles. (Times - subscription required)
Defender Liam Ridgewell, 31, - currently on loan at Brighton - has been such a success in Major League Soccer with Portland Timbers that he has been immortalised in Lego. (Independent)
Guardian Rumour Mill
Nick Ames
Where would you stage a clandestine meeting, if the mood took you? Could be a clandestine meeting anywhere and with anyone so feel free to cut loose – this is just a bit of fun to fill an awkward conversational lacuna, like talking about dream celebrity dinner guests or crushes you’d happily be trapped in a lift with. And the word “stage” is important – it has to be as showy a clandestine affair as possible, whether it’s a tête-à-tête in the tundra or a conclave in the back of your car. The only rule is to make no secret of the fact that this is a secret.
If you’re short of inspiration at this time of the morning then perhaps there’s a cue to be taken from Ed Woodward and his Manchester United cohort. A report in France claims they have staged the most secret, unassuming and bashful of clandestine meetings with one Pep Guardiola, who would surely never make a play for another manager’s job, at the swankiest of swanky centrally-located hotels in Paris. Exactly the kind of obscure location you’d seek out to undercut your local rivals in snaring the world’s hottest managerial property, but if the story – which United have denied – is true then Manchester City will have to stage something pretty spectacularly top secret themselves to lure back their objet d’amour.
United, in the meantime, have apparently shelved – or should that be “staged a shelving of”? – their transfer plans for this window, with Louis van Gaal’s future at the crisis-hit, five-games-unbeaten club still hanging in the balance. It means there may be no move after all for Felipe Anderson of Lazio, among others.
Clandestine meetings are being staged in hundreds of other locations around the world as Jim White Day nears, and goodness know how the information is finding its way to the Mill’s sweaty palms. Particularly the information that Newcastle fancy a dabble at the offside rule’s Bafétimbi Gomis for a princely £7m – presumably hypnotised into so doing by a Swansea outfit that wants to reverse some of the damage done to their relegation battle by Jonjo Shelvey’s move to the north-east.
Swansea might turn to Blackburn’s goal poacher supreme, Jordan Rhodes, to fill the role of not-especially-mobile totem. Patrick Bamford is traditionally rather easier to move than either of the aforementioned, Chelsea preparing to shuttle him out for another bit-part, nightmare loan spell, this time at Norwich.
Strikers are the order of the day, with West Ham hoping to move for Al Ain favourite Emmanuel Emenike. And Fernando Torres could be going ... well ... anywhere, with a slew of offers including one that, according to his agent, would quite fittingly make him “the best paid in the world”.
In midfielder news, Stoke think they can tame Imbula. That’s a Tame Impala pun right there, guys, and it’s also this morning’s truth bomb that Giannelli Imbula, the Porto midfielder who has been a bit-part player there since joining from Marseille in the summer, could be heading to the Britannia for a princely £19m. But not if Southampton get in there first.
Is everyone about to leave Chelsea? That’s what is on the cards if Nemanja Matic decides to call time on his second spell at Stamford Bridge, with Pedro, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa all preparing to up sticks if the midfielder sets the ball rolling. The first and last of those names could end up at Atlético Madrid, with Jackson Martinez offered as appeasement. And it could get much worse: Jon Obi Mikel is being courted by Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Shanghai SIPG, who would be prepared to put up £60,000 a week in net wages and a £6m transfer fee.
And that’s your lot for this morning. The Mill has a clandestine meeting to attend, but keep it to yourself.
HITC
West Ham targeting Espanyol's Felipe Caicedo to solve striking problems
Swansea and West Ham are reportedly pursuing Ecuador international Felipe Caicedo.
Olly Dawes
According to The Mirror, West Ham United are considering a move to sign Espanyol striker Felipe Caicedo - but Swansea City are interested too.
The Hammers have seen strikers Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho go down with injuries, leaving manager Slaven Bilic with few options to lead the line.
A host of forwards are being linked with moves to Upton Park ahead of transfer deadline day in just over a week's time, and a new name has been thrown into the mix.
The Mirror report that the Hammers are interested in signing Espanyol striker Felipe Caicedo, though they could face competition from Premier League rivals Swansea City.
Caicedo, 27, may be familiar to some Premier League fans having spent three-and-a-half years at Manchester City, though he scored only seven goals in 34 games for them before leaving for Lokomotiv Moscow, following loan spells at Sporting Lisbon, Malaga and Levante.
Now in Spain with Espanyol, the powerful centre forward has hit 19 goals in 60 appearances for the La Liga side, but may fancy his chances of another shot in the Premier League.
An international team-mate of West Ham star Enner Valencia, the Ecuadorian allegedly has a £7.7m release clause in his contract, and is being offered to Premier League teams - with the Hammers reportedly considering a move to sign Caicedo and solve their striking problems.
OS
Hammers capture youngster Trott
West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of exciting young goalkeeper Nathan Trott on a two-and-a-half year deal.
The Bermudan-born shot stopper has put pen to paper on a long term deal which, subject to FIFA approval and International clearance, will keep him at the Club until June 2018.
Trott is widely regarded as one of the best young goalkeepers around, having impressed during his trial at the Club.
Speaking after committing his future to the Hammers, a delighted Trott said: “I’m very happy; there’s been a lot of hard work put into this, not just by myself but also my Dad, my agent and all my family.
“I was very surprised when they told me; it’s a huge moment for me. I like it a lot here, I love the club. Everyone round here is very friendly.”
Having impressed during his trial the keeper can’t wait to keep learning at the Academy of Football.
Trott continued: “I came here for a trial a few months ago and I knew during my second week here that West Ham were interested.
“The coaches at the Academy have made it very easy to settle in, so have the players, they’re very friendly.”
So highly sought-after is Trott that as part of his trial the youngster was thrown into the deep end – training alongside first team stoppers Adrian and Darren Randolph.
Trott continued: “I’ve had a few training sessions with the first team which was really exciting, you have to work hard! It was a great experience, it was scary at first, I was pretty nervous but I got used to it and will hopefully do it again soon.”
When asked about his playing style and keepers he admires, Trott named arguably three of the best in world football: “I look up to David De Gea, Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois, they are my favourites.”
And as for the youngster’s own strengths? “I like to think my footwork and my reflexes are my main strengths. I have a few areas to improve but I am confident I can do that.
“Now, I just want to get as much game time as possible under my belt.”
While Trott is clearly delighted to have signed for the Hammers, he has already set his sights on the future and playing at the club’s fantastic new stadium.
Trott explained: “The new stadium was definitely a factor in my decision, it’s big!
“I haven’t visited yet but I’ve seen pictures and the goal is to play there regularly one day, that’s the goal.”
