Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Southampton and Liverpool both want to sign Celtic's 21-year-old defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Could Victor Wanyama be moving to England?

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is considering making a bid for Aston Villa's £5m-rated American goalkeeper Brad Guzan, 28.

Full story: the Sun

West Ham midfielder Joe Cole, 31, says the Hammers would love to keep on-loan striker Andy Carroll, 24, beyond the end of the season.

Full story: Metro

Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schurrle, 22, who can play either as a striker or as a winger, is believed to have already signed a pre-contract agreement to join Chelsea.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Stephane Mbia, 26, has upset QPR fans by appearing to ask fellow midfielder Joey Barton, 30, on Twitter if they can swap clubs again so Mbia can move back to Marseille. Mbia joined QPR from the French side in August, with Barton moving on loan in the opposite direction.

Full story: Daily Mail

OTHER GOSSIP

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, 50, wants former Blackburn boss Steve Kean, 45, to join him if he returns as manager at Stamford Bridge.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Steven Gerrard may not play again this season

Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, 23, insists Tottenham are not good enough to claim a top-four spot.

Full story: the Sun

Liverpool are considering bringing forward plans for midfielder Steven Gerrard, 32, to have an operation on a shoulder injury. The Anfield captain was scheduled to have surgery in the summer, but it could happen earlier than expected.

Full story: the Times (subscription required)

England winger Wilfried Zaha, 20, must show Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson his best form after problems on and off the field. Zaha joined United in January from Championship side Crystal Palace, but was then loaned back to Palace for the remainder of this season.

Full story: Daily Mail

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, 26, says he has had a better all-round first season in England than Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba. The Gunners forward has been criticised despite only scoring 17 times in all competitions since joining the club last summer from Montpellier.

Full story: the Times (subscription required)

Belgium-registered agent Daniel Striani has lodged an official challenge with the European Commission to Uefa's financial fair play regulations claiming it is an illegal restriction on his potential income.

Full story: Independent

Liverpool's policy of buying up houses around Anfield for a ground expansion and leaving them empty has driven the local area into dreadful decline, claim local residents.

Full story: Guardian

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Juventus will try to sign Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, 26, Real Madrid attacker Gonzalo Higuain, 25, and Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, 24, as they aim to mount a challenge for the Champions League title next season.

Full story: Tuttosport (Italian)

Relations between Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and his team are so bad that he is on speaking terms with only three players - goalkeeper Diego Lopez, 31, and midfielders Michael Essien, 30, and Luka Modric, 27.

Full story: Marca (Spanish)

Barcelona left-back Eric Abidal, 33, does not expect to be offered an extension to his contract which is due to end on 30 June. The Frenchman returned to the team last month after undergoing a liver transplant.

Full story: Radio Cadena Cope (Spanish)

AND FINALLY

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho was spotted buying boxes and packaging in furniture store Ikea, increasing speculation that he is to leave Spain in the summer and return to England as Chelsea manager.

Full story: Guardian