Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is wanted by former club Zenit St Petersburg. The Russian transfer window is open until 24 February and Zenit are keen to re-sign the Slovakia centre-back, 28, who they sold to the Reds in 2008.

Skrtel signed a new Liverpool contract in August.

Full story: Daily Mail

Manchester City coach Angelo Gregucci says the club want Napoli striker Edinson Cavani but expect stiff competition for the Uruguay striker, 25.

Full story: ESPN

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has raised doubts about his future at Anfield. The Uruguayan, 26, said: "We will see at the end of the season what Liverpool's position is - we're not the Liverpool of old."

Full story: Daily Mirror

But Suarez has also said that hearing the Liverpool fans sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' makes him want to stay at Anfield for years to come.

Full story: the Sun

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is facing competition from Bayern Munich for Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski, 24.

Full story: the Sun

Corinthians midfielder Paulinho, 24, who has been linked with Chelsea as well as Inter Milan, will move to Europe this summer, according to agent Kia Joorabchian.

Full story: talkSPORT

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger could return for Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue after failing with a move for the France international, 25, in January.

Full story: Daily Telegraph

Chelsea could meet the £5m buy-out clause for Santos youngster Neilton, 19. The Brazilian teenager has been described as the "new Neymar".

Full story: Daily Mirror

McCarthy, 22, made his Hamilton debut at 16.

Crystal Palace are interested in taking West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie on loan. The Nigerian, 31, attempted to force through a move to QPR on transfer deadline day.

Full story: Daily Telegraph

Wigan midfielder James McCarthy has refused to rule out leaving the DW Stadium in the summer. Republic of Ireland international McCarthy, 22, joined the Latics in 2009 and has been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool.

Full story: Daily Mail

Ajax striker Viktor Fischer is set to disappoint Manchester United and Chelsea by signing a new contract with the Amsterdam club. The Denmark international, 18, had only made two Eredivisie appearances before playing in Ajax's 2-2 Champions League draw with Manchester City in October.

Full story: Sky Sports

OTHER GOSSIP

Vukasin Poleksic, the Montenegrin goalkeeper, 30, banned for two years for failing to report a phone call from a criminal gang asking him to help fix Debrecen's Champions League matches against Liverpool and Fiorentina in 2009, has revealed he could have joined Portsmouth in 2007. "It was a mistake because I got this punishment. Maybe, if I had gone there, who knows?" he said.

Full story: Daily Telegraph

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho angrily accused his players of concentrating on next week's Champions League tie with Manchester United after a 1-0 defeat at Granada. With rivals Barcelona winning, Madrid are now 16 points behind the La Liga leaders.

Mourinho has been linked with a move away from Madrid.

Full story: Marca (Spanish)

Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed concerns about his ankle problem ahead of next week's last-16 clash with United and, after celebrating his 28th birthday on Tuesday, the Portuguese wants to emulate former team-mate Ryan Giggs, 39, by playing for another decade.

Full story: AS (Spanish)

GLOBAL GOSSIP

Sourced by BBC Monitoring

Schalke's Dutch forward Klaas Jan Hutelaar has suffered a blood clot in his eye which has drastically reduced his vision. The injury, which kept him out of Wednesday night's 1-1 draw against Italy, may be more serious than originally thought.

Full story: Bild

France's loss to Germany, a second successive home defeat, "did little to reassure" French fans ahead of the team's World Cup qualifier against defending champions Spain next month. However, coach Didier Deschamps said the defeat will "have no effect" on the team's mindset ahead of the game.

Full story: Le Monde

AND FINALLY

Ashley Cole may have won his 100th England cap in the 2-1 win over Brazil but it was left-back rival Leighton Baines, and not Cole, that featured on the front of the Wembley programme.

Full story: Daily Mail