Tuesday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Tottenham have opened talks over a £10m move for Barcelona striker David Villa, 31, and have renewed their interest in 23-year-old Leandro Damiao, a long-term target.

Full story: Daily Mail

Free agent Arshavin is a target for former club Zenit St Petersburg

Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin, 31, who is a free agent after his £90,000-a-week Arsenal contract expired at the end of the season, is a target for former club Zenit St Petersburg.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, 21, says he wants to remain on loan at Atletico Madrid for "one more year" before competing for the number one jersey with Petr Cech, 31, at Stamford Bridge.

Full story: Metro

Fulham are lining up a loan deal for Marseille midfielder Morgan Amalfitano, 28.

Full story: Daily Mail

Queens Park Rangers playmaker Adel Taarabt, 24, could be on his way out of Loftus Road - with United Arab Emirates side Al Ain plotting a move.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Sunderland are close to agreeing a four-year contract with Basel midfielder Cabral, 24, who is out of contract next month.

Full story: Daily Mail

Aston Villa will offer Andreas Weimann, 21, a bumper pay-rise this week to fend off interest from Newcastle, Sunderland and Norwich.

Full story: Daily Mirror

West Brom are considering a move for 27-year-old Anderlecht striker Dieumerci Mbokani.

Full story: The Sun

Celtic are close to signing Bulgarian winger Aleksandar Tonev, 23, from Lech Poznan in an £8m deal.

Full story: Daily Record

OTHER GOSSIP

Former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City boss Mark Hughes, 49, is close to sealing his return to management after holding further talks with Stoke City in the past 48 hours.

Full story: Daily Telegraph

Former Wales, Blackburn and Manchester City boss Hughes is close to returning to management with Stoke

Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane has heaped praise on Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, 23, in an attempt to lure him to the Bernabeu.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Manchester City could be at risk of losing their second tier seeding in the Champions League.

Full story: the Times (subscription required)

Crystal Palace boss Ian Holloway has suggested that Manchester United manager David Moyes might be willing to allow forward Wilfried Zaha, 20, to return to the club on loan again next season.

Full story: the Times (subscription required)

Holloway added that he hopes Kevin Phillips, 39, will postpone any thoughts of retirement and remain at the club for their return to the Premier League.

Full story: talkSPORT

England centre-back Phil Jagielka, 30, has no plans to follow boss David Moyes, 50, out of Everton this summer.

Full story: the Sun

Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen, 49, is expected to leave the club after talks with incoming manager David Moyes.

Full story: the Times (subscription required)

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Keeper Victor Valdes has played over 350 games for Barcelona.

Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes, 31, and Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao, 27, are on the verge of signing with recently-promoted French side Monaco.

Full story: Marca (in Spanish)

Portuguese centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, 35, is "close" to signing for Monaco following the expiration of his contract with Real Madrid.

Full story: Sport 24 (in French)

Roma forward Pablo Osvaldo, 27, has been dropped from the Italian national team for the Confederations Cup after insulting his club coach, Aurelio Andreazzoli, on Twitter.

Full story: Corriere della Sera (in Italian)

AND FINALLY

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, 34, scored an impressive 50-yard lob over Ben Foster, 30, in an England training session.

Full story: Daily Mail