Gossip Column: Rooney, Robben, Sneijder, Ochoa, Vermaelen

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WORLD CUP GOSSIP

Netherlands boss Louis Van Gaal has complained he'll need a barstool in the dug-out to see his stars play Australia, with TV cameramen obstructing his view. Daily Mirror, external

England striker Wayne Rooney, 28, spent a whole 90-minute training session up front, as opposed to the left position that frustrated him against Italy. Sun, external

Image source, AP
Image caption,

Rooney needs one more goal to draw level with Michael Owen on 40 as England's fourth-highest scorer

Uruguay are a two-man team who rely too heavily on Luis Suarez, 27, and Edinson Cavani, 27, according to Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill. Daily Star, external

QPR boss Harry Redknapp believes Uruguay will have "no chance" of beating England if striker Luis Suarez, 27, is not fit. Evening Standard, external

Suarez's fitness is a national obsession for Uruguay and dominated their TV, radio and newspapers. Daily Mirror, external

England's crucial World Cup match with Uruguay is worth a staggering £400m to the UK economy. Daily Star, external

Spaniard Carlos Velasco Carballo, who sent off Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger, 29, after an alleged dive by Rooney in April, has been named as the referee for England's crunch game against Uruguay. Guardian, external

Daniel Sturridge's goalscoring World Cup debut came as no surprise to the 24-year-old Liverpool striker's first coach at Cadbury Athletic, Pete Evans, who watched him net 50 goals in a season aged eight. Birmingham Mail, external

Striker Fernando Torres, 30, says Spain may have to ditch their tiki-taka style if they want to rescue their World Cup dream from disaster. Daily Express, external

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen wants a £12m move to Manchester United this summer. Daily Express, external

Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 30 admits the chance to join up with Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United might be too good to turn down. Manchester Evening News, external

Tottenham are preparing to off-load striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 30, in order to finance a £32m move for Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku. Daily Express, external

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Arjen Robben has a contract with Bayern Munich until 2017

Liverpool and Everton are both interested in signing QPR and Cameroon midfielder Stephane Mbia, 28. Daily Star, external

Manchester United are preparing a £40m bid to try and lure winger Arjen Robben, 30, away from Bayern Munich this summer.Daily Express, external

Tottenham are lining up a a £3m bid for Sunderland defender John O'Shea, 33, as captain Michael Dawson is free to leave this summer.Telegraph, external

AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli, 23, is open to a move to Arsenal after his agent revealed 'anything is possible' this summer. Daily Mail, external

Rubin Kazan's France international midfielder Yann M'Vila, 23, is set to reject Liverpool and Arsenal in favour of a move to Inter Milan.Daily Star, external

Liverpool have opened talks with Bayern Munich over a £16m move for winger Xherdan Shaqiri, 22, after losing interest in Southampton's Adam Lallana. Daily Mail, external

Swansea are the latest club to be linked with a summer move for Sunderland left-back Marcos Alonso, 23. Sunderland Echo, external

Image source, AFP
Image caption,

Ochoa ended a three-year spell with French club Ajaccio in May after their relegation to Ligue 2

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce wants another four signings after making £7m Anderlect star Cheikou Kouyate, 24, his second capture of the summer.Daily Mirror, external

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has made £15m-rated Paris St-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, 29, his top transfer target from the World Cup in Brazil.Sun, external

Arsenal and Liverpool also want Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, 28, who is keen to play in the Champions League after becoming a free agent. Daily Express, external

Manchester United defender Alex Buttner, 25, claims the arrival of Louis van Gaal has convinced him to leave Old Trafford, with Dynamo Moscow a possible destination. Daily Telegraph, external

Image source, Other
Image caption,

The Sun's back page on Wednesday

Former Scunthorpe United winger Mark Duffy, 28, is on the verge of sealing a move to Championship outfit Birmingham City. Scunthorpe Telegraph, external

Newcastle United have offered a deal to Hertha Berlin's 22-year-old striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga.Newcastle Chronicle, external

Everton boss Roberto Martinez is confident he can land Barcelona winger Cristian Tello, 22, on a season-long loan as the Spanish club seem willing to let him out for the campaign, rather than offload him permanently.Sun, external

Crystal Palace are moving closer to a £1.5m deal for former Everton midfielder Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, 29, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Anzhi Makhachkala from Spartak Moscow.Croydon Advertiser, external

Middlesbrough are keeping tabs on Sammy Ameobi, with Newcastle open to offers for the 22-year-old forward.Newcastle Journal, external

Premier League newcomers Leicester City are interested in Port Vale's out-of-contract defender Joe Davis, 20, who has been offered a new deal by the Valiants. Stoke Sentinel, external

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Spain national team coach Vicente Del Bosque says the team must be brave and aggressive in their match against Chile on Wednesday. Marca (in Spanish), external

South Korean striker Lee Keun-ho, 29, who scored a crucial goal for his team to earn a draw against Russia, has always "been chronically undervalued as a football asset" and his goal "had a taste of redemption". Korea Times, external

Argentina forward Lionel Messi, 26, has asked his manager to change the team's formation for the game against Iran, because Iran, like Bosnia, will be quite defensive when they face each other on Saturday. Abrar News (in Farsi), external

Former Australia coach Pim Verbeek says the Socceroos have no chance against the Netherlands on Wednesday. Sydney Morning Herald, external

OTHER GOSSIP

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich appeared to concede defeat in his quest to relocate Chelsea after commissioning a study to explore the possibility of expanding Stamford Bridge. Daily Telegraph, external

New Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 27, says he told Barcelona to let him leave, and claims they tried to stop him departing. Sky Sports, external

Stoke boss Mark Hughes has returned from holiday keen to resolve the future of 25-year-old midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who has again hinted at a move. Stoke Sentinel, external

Former Forest Green boss David Hockaday is expected to be named Leeds United head coach. Sky Sports, external

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Brazilian forward Neymar, 22, wrote on Facebook:, external "Despite the draw, lived today one of the biggest thrills of my life," alongside a photo of him in tears during the national anthem ahead of their game against Mexico.

Image source, Neymar on Facebook

England striker Daniel Sturridge posted a video on Instagram, external of team-mates Joe Hart and Steven Gerrard dropping England masseur Paul Small in an ice bath by to mark his 50th birthday.

England winger Raheem Sterling spent some time messing around with a ball on the beach on Tuesday. He posted a photo with the message on Instagram:, external"Today on the beach a give them some joga bonito Brazilian style."

Indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs post a video on Facebook, external of #myworldcupseat in a bar while on tour in the USA.

Spain striker Fernando Torres on Twitter:, external We are here to win games for our country. We want the three points. Now more than ever #allinornothing.

Belgium midfielder Marouane Fellaini on Twitter,, external following his side's 2-1 win over Algeria: Well done for the first game. Thanks for your support. You are really amazing. Now focus for the second one

Image source, Alexander Gerst
Image caption,

German astronaut Alexander Gerst watched Germany v Portugal from space

German astronaut Alexander Gerst on Facebook:, external "We managed to fit 20 minutes of live #worldcup in between our 10 hours of science experiments. Congrats to the German team from space!"

USA striker Clint Dempsey posted a photo on Facebook, external of himself with American vice-president in the team dressing room following their victory over Ghana.

According to Twitter,, external there were 8.95m tweets during the Brazil v Mexico game on Tuesday. That's the second most-tweeted World Cup match so far.

AND FINALLY

Former Tottenham and Fulham forward Clint Dempsey, 31, has revealed he is releasing a 13-track rap album later this summer. Evening Standard, external

Brazil legend Pele had to listen to the first half of the World Cup hosts' 0-0 draw with Mexico on the radio because of traffic jams in Sao Paulo. Yahoo, external

Argentina forward Lionel Messi, 26, tracked down and had a photo with the mascot whose hand he inadvertently missed shaking before the Bosnia-Hercegovina game. Bleacher Report, external

Five-time NBA champion and former most valuable player Kobe Bryant, 35, says football is his favourite sport. Fifa, external

You can comment on the latest gossip on the BBC Sport Facebook page., external