Friday's gossip column

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For a list of confirmed transfers, check out our transfers page.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester City hope to complete a £21m deal for Malaga midfielder Isco in the next 48 hours. There were fears Real Madrid could hijack City's move for the 21-year-old, who indicated on Thursday that a deal with the Blues could be tied up over the weekend.

Juan Mata scored 18 goals in all competitions for Chelsea last season

Full story: Daily Mail

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will speak to Juan Mata in an attempt to reassure the 25-year-old Spain midfielder that he wants to keep him at Stamford Bridge. Reports had claimed that Mourinho was keen to sell Mata, with Barcelona said to be interested.

Full story: Daily Mirror

The agent of Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel, 28, has down played his client's chances of a move to Napoli and a reunion with former Reds boss Rafa Benitez.

Full story: Sky Sports

Arsenal are putting the finishing touches on a £50m deal for Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain, 25, and the club's billionaire shareholder Alisher Usmanov has also urged manager Arsene Wenger to make a move for 27-year-old Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Full story: Daily Mail

The Gunners are also set for a £6m move for Dyanamo Zagreb defender Tin Jedvaj, 17. Wenger is unhappy with Swansea's £10m asking price for Ashley Williams, 28, and sees Croatian Jedvaj, who came close to joining Roma recently, as another option.

Victor Wanyama scored in Celtic's memorable win over Barcelona last November

Full story: the Sun

Southampton and Cardiff City are set to battle it out for the signature of Celtic's 21-year-old midfielder Victor Wanyama, who is valued at over £10m by his club.

Full story: Sky Sports

Hull are set to move for Gent striker Ilombe Mboyo after failing to agree a fee for Burnley's Charlie Austin. Belgium striker Mboyo, 26, who scored 21 goals last season, almost joined Norwich in January and would cost £6m. The Tigers offered £4m for Austin but the Clarets want £7m.

Full story: Daily Star

OTHER GOSSIP

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley hopes his controversial appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football will heal a rift between manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr.

Full story: Daily Mirror

However, Kinnear's arrival has cast doubt on the future of midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa, 26, who was about to start contract talks.

Full story: The Independent

Ex-England manager Fabio Capello rejected the Paris St-Germain job because he thinks the French club want to appoint Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger next summer.

Full story: the Sun

Campbell has been out of football since leaving Newcastle in 2011.

Former Arsenal and England defender Sol Campbell, 38, wants to replace Stuart Pearce as England Under-21 coach.

Full story: Daily Star

Aston Villa midfielder Charles N'Zogbia, 27, could miss the start of the season after suffering an "unspecified" injury while on holiday.

Full story: Birmingham Mail

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi's father has vented his anger on radio over accusations that he and his son have attempted to defraud Spanish authorities of more than 4m euros (£3.4m) in tax.

Full story: Marca (in English)

Liverpool gave Andy Carroll a £1m pay-off to leave the club. The England striker, 24, joined West Ham in a £15m deal this week.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Brighton will target Tottenham coach Tim Sherwood if Gus Poyet, currently suspended by the Championship club, leaves the Seagulls.

Full story: Daily Star

Blackburn global adviser Shebby Singh is facing an uncertain future and has not been seen at Ewood Park for nearly three months.

Full story: the Sun

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Laurent Blanc is the latest in a long list of coaches to be approached by Paris St-Germain over replacing Carlo Ancelotti. Frank Rijkaard has reportedly rejected the advances of the French champions.

Blanc stepped down as France manager last summer

Full story: L'Equipe (French)

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, 30, has told Spanish media that he believes his club would understand if he had the "chance to improve and go to a bigger club," adding that there are "not many bigger than Liverpool". The Spaniard has been linked with a return to Barcelona.

Full story: Onda Cero (Spanish)

Belgian winger Dries Mertens, 26, is on the verge of a move to Napoli where he may be joined by Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, 27.

Full story: Tuttosport (Italian)

The future of Aitor Karanka - Jose Mourinho's assistant at Real Madrid - remains in the balance. The Spaniard has been offered a job at Chelsea, but is also considering a move into management in Dubai.

Full story: Marca

AND FINALLY

Manchester United and Chelsea's pre-season visits to Thailand could be in jeopardy. The Football Association of Thailand could be suspended from international competition by Fifa after Thai club Pattaya FC won an injunction to prevent a vote on rule amendments.

Full story: Daily Mail

Builders at Manchester City's new Etihad Campus training ground have been banned from wearing Manchester United shirts.

Full story: Manchester Evening News