Chelsea sets £60M to sign Ronaldo. Read here

Chelsea have set aside £60m to sign Real
Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, 29, next
summer. (Daily Express)
Meanwhile, Chelsea striker Loic Remy, 27, says
he cannot understand Liverpool's decision to pull
the plug on his move to Anfield this summer.
(Daily Star)
Hull City's record signing, striker Abel
Hernandez, 24, says he rejected Benfica in
favour of a "dream" Premier League move on
deadline day. (Sky Sports)
Thursday's Daily Mirror
back page
Former Tottenham, Fulham and Wales midfielder
Simon Davies, 34, has signed for Pembrokeshire-
based amateur team Solva AFC. (Wales Online)
Nicolas Anelka's agent has denied speculation
that the striker, 35, could have joined Fiorentina
prior to agreeing a deal with Indian side Mumbai
FC until Christmas. (Sky Sports)
Chelsea have expressed an interest in Barcelona's
11-year-old prodigy Xavier Simons. (Daily
Express)

Meanwhile Barca have secured first rights to 18-
year-old Santos striker Gabriel. (Daily Mail)
Birmingham City manager Lee Clark, 41, hopes to
complete the loan signing of a Premier League
player on Thursday. (Birmingham Mail)
Championship leaders Nottingham Forest are
poised to allow defender Greg Halford, 29, to join
Bolton Wanderers on loan with the deal expected
to go through on Thursday. (Daily Mail)

OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has
been told that he is expected to finish no lower
than third in the Premier League this season,
with no further substantial additions to the
squad after this summer's £153.1m outlay.
(Independent)
United legend Gary Neville, 39, has questioned the
club's logic in selling forward Danny Welbeck, 23,
to rivals Arsenal for just £16m. (Talksport)
Thursday's Daily Star back
page
But young players are still the future at
Manchester United despite the £16m sale of
home-grown striker Danny Welbeck, 23, and 25-
year-old Tom Cleverley's loan switch to Aston
Villa says assistant boss Ryan Giggs, who
reiterated his desire to one day manage the club.
(Manchester Evening News)

Arsenal skipper Mikel Arteta and vice captain Per
Mertesacker played a key role in sealing the
surprise £16m signing of England striker Welbeck
from Manchester United. (Daily Star)
Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor, 27, has
signed a new four-year contract and says: "It is
still a dream come true playing for the club I
love." (The Sun - subscription required)
Agbonlahor has also urged Villa to secure
England international Fabian Delph, 24, on a four-
year contract. (Birmingham Mail)
European governing body Uefa has "rewritten
rules" to allow Manchester City to sidestep
Financial Fair Play sanctions. (Independent)
Tottenham's owner, 77-year-old businessman
Joe Lewis, wants to sell the club for £1bn. (Daily
Mirror)
BBC pundit Phil Neville, 37, has backed former
Manchester United and England team-mate David
Beckham, 39, to take on a senior role at the
Football Association - or even make a move into
politics. (Daily Mail)
Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge, 25,
faces a race against time to be fit for the
Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday, 27
September. (Liverpool Echo)
Sturridge picked up an
injury on England duty
Tottenham could make a shock move to Milton
Keynes while their new stadium is built. (Sun -
subscription required)
Lee Cattermole, 26, has invited Roy Hodgson to
the Stadium of Light - as the Sunderland enforcer
believes he is the man to anchor England's
midfield. (Daily Mail)
Mike Ashley is willing to listen to offers to sell
Newcastle United as he looks to bring an end to
a troubled seven-year reign at St James' Park.
(Daily Telegraph)
Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, 53, has
two games to save his job. (Daily Express)
Magpies winger Jonas Gutierrez, 31 has a year
left on his contract and wants to know what the
future holds for him after being frozen out by
Pardew. (Newcastle Chronicle)
New signing Danny Welbeck has pleaded with
Arsene Wenger to be given an extended run at
centre forward in the Arsenal team. (Times -
subscription required)
The president of Sporting Lisbon has launched an
outspoken attack on the investor funds which
have bought "economic rights" in scores of
footballers in Portugal and elsewhere. (Guardian)
Midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 26, has vowed to
"fight for my place" in Manchester United's
strongest XI. (Guardian)
The future of Blackpool manager Jose Riga, 57,
looks doubtful after his behaviour was
condemned by chairman Karl Oyston. (Times -
subscription required)
Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny, 29, believes
team-mate Olivier Giroud, 27, will come back
even stronger when he returns from injury. (Sun -
subscription required)
Defender Tyler Blackett, 20, is hoping to keep his
place in Manchester United's first-team squad,
despite the arrivals of Marcos Rojo, 24, and
Daley Blind, 24. (Manchester Evening News)
Massimo Cellino's ownership of Leeds United
could come under renewed scrutiny, Football
League chief executive Shaun Harvey has warned.
(Yorkshire Post)
Tottenham executive director Darren Eales has
been confirmed as the club president of Major
League Soccer's new Atlanta-based franchise.
(Evening Standard)
GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)
Barcelona have confirmed that forward Luis
Suarez is free to take part in the first El Clasico
of the season against Real Madrid which has
been scheduled for 25 October, following his four
month ban for biting. (As.com)
Former Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso was
not Bayern Munich's first choice as the
Bundesliga champions were looking to sign
Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez, but the 34-year-old
midfielder refused the offer. (Bild)
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti says he will
find the right solution for the Spanish club this
year despite the loss of midfielders Xabi Alonso
and Angel di Maria to Bayern Munich and
Manchester United respectively. (Marca)
Leeds owner Massimo Cellino is looking at former
Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, and former
coaching assistant at Chelsea, Steve Clarke, for
the club's manager position. (Tuttosport)
Valencia forward Paco Alcacer's strong
performances on the field have made the 21-
year-old Spaniard a hot transfer prospect for
several clubs. (Marca)
Juventus and Real Madrid are considering making
a move for Liverpool defender Glen Johnson,
whose contract expires at the end of the season.
(Tuttosport)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish took a leaf
out of Yaya Toure's book on the day he turned
19 - by asking his club on Twitter if they had
remembered to get him a birthday cake.
AND FINALLY
New Villa loan signing Tom Cleverley, 25, took
part in a Twitter Q&A hosted by the Premier
League on Tuesday - with predictably mixed
results. (Birmingham Mail)
Liverpool sold £50,000 worth of Mario Balotelli
replica shirts on the day that the 24-year-old
striker signed from AC Milan. (Telegraph)