Gossip column: Pique, Khedira, Neves, Lamela, Ferdinand

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TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are planning a £20m move to bring Barcelona defender Gerard Pique back to Old Trafford. The 27-year-old moved to the Nou Camp in 2008. (Daily Star), external

United will offer Real Madrid's 27-year-old anchorman Sami Khedira a contract worth £5.5m a year to try and beat Chelsea and Arsenal in the queue. (Daily Express), external

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Pique signed for Manchester United in 2004 from current club Barcelona

AC Milan are also interested in Germany international Khedira, while the Italian side could also make a move for 20-year-old Liverpool midfielder Suso. (Daily Mail), external

Defender Rio Ferdinand could be offloaded by QPR in January after six months at Loftus Road. The former England captain, who turns 36 in November, could be replaced by Porto's Rolando, 29, or West Ham's 26-year-old Winston Reid. (Daily Mirror), external

Liverpool will compete with Juventus and several Spanish sides for the signature of Porto's 17-year-old midfielder Ruben Neves. (Daily Mirror), external

Bayern Munich are to step up their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund's 25-year-old forward Marco Reus, who is also a target for Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. (Daily Star), external

Leeds are pondering a loan move for Slovenian midfielder Josip Ilicic, 26, who has fallen out of favour at Fiorentina. (Tuttomercatoweb), external

Former Real Madrid striker Raul, whose last club was Qatari side Al-Saad, is set to sign a deal with North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos. The 37-year-old will also have a role at the club's academy. (ESPN FC), external

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he would like to manage in Spain one day as he prepares to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. (AS) , external

Image source, The Sun
Image caption,

The Sun's back page on Tuesday

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Rodgers should drop striker Mario Balotelli for the Champions League group game on Wedensday and play Raheem Sterling up front instead. (Daily Mail), external

Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett is the man most likely to fill the vacant Birmingham City manager's post after Lee Clark was sacked on Monday. (Times - subscription required), external

But the Blues are also keen on former Newcastle and Norwich boss Chris Hughton, although the 55-year-old is awaiting a decision on whether he is wanted by fellow Championship side Fulham. (Sun - subscription required) , external

Getting the Olympic Stadium ready for West Ham to use could cost the taxpayer up to £50m more than expected. (Daily Telegraph), external

Tottenham playmaker Erik Lamela, 22, believes that Spurs can secure a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for next season's Champions League despite their 4-1 weekend defeat by champions Manchester City. (Evening Standard), external

CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa, 22, has pinpointed Manchester City's "very weak" defence before the teams' meeting in the Russian capital on Tuesday.(Manchester Evening News), external

Sunderland winger Will Buckley, 24, denies his side gave up during Saturday's 8-0 thrashing away to Southampton.(Evening Chronicle), external

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Barcelona's 31 year-old Brazilian defender Dani Alves could be on his way to England to play for Manchester United next season. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Real Madrid are looking at Bayern Munich's David Alaba, 22, as a possible replacement for defender Marcelo Vieira if the 26-year-old Brazilian defender decides to leave the club in 2015. (Bild - in German), external

Chelsea have hired promising 13-year-old French goalkeeper Nicolas Tie from FC Poitiers. (Le Figaro - in French), external

Real Madrid are considering a £22m move for Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj, 19. (AS.com - in Spanish), external

Chile international Arturo Vidal has clarified that his relationship with Juventus is very good after reports suggested that the 27-year-old midfielder was fined by the Italian club. (Tuttosport), external

Brazilian striker Adriano, 32, is on the verge of signing a deal with French Club Le Havre. (L'Equipe), external

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, 21, and striker Karim Benzema, 26, have returned to training ahead of the club's encounter against Liverpool on Tuesday. (AS.com), external

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

West Brom tweeted, external at half-time during their game against Manchester United on Monday: "Fellaini has now taken his tracksuit off, fortunately he has a Man Utd strip on underneath."

United reserve goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard was one of those to take offence at West Brom's tweet, saying it showed "a complete lack of knowledge, class and respect.", external

Albion responded:, external "Sorry if a joke about a footballer not having a shirt on under his tracksuit top has caused such outrage. It was not intended as a slur."

Fellaini did his talking on the pitch, scoring a superb equaliser, external just a few minutes after his arrival into the action.

AND FINALLY

Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham all turned down the chance to sign Raheem Sterling, 19, before the winger joined Liverpool from QPR for an initial £500,000 in 2012. (Daily Express), external