Gossip

RANSFER GOSSIP Brazilian forward Douglas Costa, 24, has asked his Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk not to price him out of a move to Chelsea this January. (Daily Mirror) Aymeric Laporte Aymeric Laporte is a France Under-21 international Chelsea and Manchester United have been handed a boost in their pursuit of midfielder Paul Pogba, 21, after Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri said a £75m offer would be hard to reject. (Metro) Meanwhile, United's pursuit of Kevin Strootman, 24, looks to have been halted after the Roma midfielder picked up a knee injury against Fiorentina. (Sun - subscription required) The agent of winger Adnan Januzaj, 19, has revealed that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has halted a move to Paris St-Germain - or anywhere else - this winter. (Telegraph) Southampton are considering making a move for Netherlands midfielder Jordy Clasie, 23, from Feyenoord. (Daily Mirror) The Sun back page Tuesday's Sun back page Andre Schurrle, 24, is expected to be missing from the Chelsea squad for Wednesday's Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool as Wolfsburg attempt to strike a deal to sign the Germany international forward. (Telegraph) Boss Kenny Jackett says Wolves would speak to winger Bakary Sako, 26, about a move if local rivals West Brom or any other clubs meet their valuation - but no bids have been received yet. (Wolverhampton Express and Star) Birmingham City have told 18-year-old winger Demarai Gray to wait for a top Premier League club to show an interest in him and turn down a move to Championship rivals Bournemouth, who have previously bid £1.5m for the player. (Daily Star) Derby County have been denied in their attempts to bring QPR pair Junior Hoilett, 24, and Matt Phillips, 23, to the club on loan but manager Steve McClaren may still try to complete permanent deals. (Daily Mail) OTHER GOSSIP Newcastle United will make Derby boss Steve McClaren their number one managerial target in the summer after confirming that John Carver will remain in charge until the end of the season. (Daily Mail) Daily Mirror Tuesday's Daily Mirror's back page Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will respond to his side's defeat by Bradford City in the FA Cup fourth round by naming his strongest team for their League Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool on Tuesday. (The Times - subscription required) Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes his side must show "a ruthless streak" if they are to win trophies under Mourinho. (Telegraph) Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, 36, says he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season, because he wants to help inspire the future generation of Blues stars. (Daily Express) Real Madrid could face a transfer ban, similar to the one imposed on Barcelona, after world governing body Fifa opened an investigation into transfers involving under-age players. (Guardian) Midfielder Fabian Delph, 25, says his Aston Villa team-mates were shocked to learn he had signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal. (Guardian) Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, 33, has revealed he would like to move to the United States and play in Major League Soccer. (Wall Street Journal) West Ham captain Kevin Nolan hopes people who have criticised team-mate and striker Andy Carroll on social media will be "eating their words" as the England international, 26, continues to show a return to form. (Daily Express) Mike Phelan, 52, has agreed a deal to become Hull City's new assistant manager alongside his former Manchester United team-mate Steve Bruce. (Hull Daily Mail) BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA Leicester City defender Danny Simpson after his side were drawn away to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fifth round, tweeted: "I thought @GaryLineker was an @OfficialFoxes fan? Couldn't you get us a home draw mate eh?" Striker Jermain Defoe has picked his five-a-side dream team for the Sunderland YouTube channel and includes his former Tottenham team-mates Hugo Lloris, Ledley King and Luka Modric. Chelsea forward Eden Hazard tweeted after ex-Argentina midfielder Riquelme announced his retirement: "Juan Roman Riquelme thank you for everything." AND FINALLY... Tottenham fans may want to avoid looking up the term "lackadaisical" after the search engine Google using the north London club's defence to define the meaning of the word. (Independent) For a list of all the latest deals, check out the transfers page.