Gossip column: Coentrao, De Bruyne, Fekir, Sneijder & Austin

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TRANSFER GOSSIP

Liverpool and Arsenal have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao, 26, after it was made clear he was unwanted at the La Liga side. (Daily Express), external

Aston Villa face a battle to keep defender Aly Cissokho, 27, with Spurs and Napoli showing interest in the Frenchman. (Daily Mirror), external

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Coentrao joined Real Madrid from Benfica for £23.4m in July 2011

Crystal Palace have made a £2.5m bid for Lille left-back Pape Souare, 24, but the French side will not let him go for less than £3m. (Daily Mail), external

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has made Wolfsburg's £20m-rated midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 23, one of his top January transfer targets just 11 months after the Belgium international left Chelsea for £18m. (Daily Star), external

Arsenal have been handed a fillip in their pursuit of Lyon midfielder Nabil Fekir, 21, after his father acknowledged that he will only leave France for the Gunners. (Le Parisien - in French), external

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are interested in signing Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets, 26, but Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain are also interested.(Daily Express), external

Manchester City and Southampton look set to miss out on signing Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 30, in January after the Turkish side promised to meet all the Dutchman's contract obligations. (Daily Mirror), external

Former Celtic striker, Tony Watt, 20, will quit Standard Liege for Charlton Athletic after being told he has no future at the Belgian outfit just four months after joining the club. (Daily Express), external

Newcastle United's contract talks with winger Rolando Aarons, 19, have broken down, alerting suitors Manchester City. (The Sun - subscription required), external

Greek champions Olympiakos are chasing Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky. The 34-year-old has made just eight appearances this season. (Independent), external

OTHER GOSSIP

Newcastle United midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 25, has responded to interest from Arsenal by admitting he loves the Gunners and says it is his dream to play in the Champions League. (Daily Star), external

Image source, Daily Star
Image caption,

Monday's Daily Star back page

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc insists the Bundesliga side still have faith in under-fire coach Jurgen Klopp despite a defeat at fellow strugglers Werder Bremen on Saturday that left them joint bottom of the table. (Goal.com), external

Manchester United target Mats Hummels has raised major doubts about his Borussia Dortmund future as the 26-year-old midfielder calls the German club "pathetic".(Daily Mirror), external

QPR boss Harry Redknapp insists the club will not cash in on striker Charlie Austin, 25, in the January transfer window after a hat-trick against West Brom on Saturday took his tally to 11 for the season.(Daily Telegraph), external

Stoke boss and former Chelsea forward Mark Hughes believes the Stamford Bridge side can win the quadruple this season.(Daily Telegraph), external

Germany coach Joachim Low has suggested he could leave his post in the near future and return to coaching a club side. (Kicker Magazine - in German), external

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says he has no intention of offering explanations to Petr Cech and Jon Mikel Obi after omitting them from his starting line up to face Stoke City on Monday evening.(The Times - subscription required), external

Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng believes his side can cope with his January absence, but not forward Wilfried Bony's. Ki will be heading to Australia with South Korea playing in the Asian Cup, while Bony, 26, will be on duty for the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.(The Sun - subscription required), external

GLOBAL GOSSIP

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo, 29, says his wish for 2015 is to retain the Champions League trophy. (Marca), external

Arsenal would be willing to pay £26 million to sign Spanish forward Pedro Rodriguez, 27, who has a contract with Barcelona until 2016. (L'Equipe), external

Paris St-Germain have not yet given up the fight for Juventus' Paul Pogba, 21, and are ready to pay £63 million to recruit the French midfielder. (Le Figaro), external

Paris St-Germain could also recruit Borussia Dortmund striker Marco Reus, 25, should they need to replace Edinson Cavani, 27, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal. (Bild), external

Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 31, has renewed his contract with Schalke until June 2017. (As.com), external

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Image source, Matt Smith twitter
Image caption,

Bristol City loan player Matt Smith (left) with actor Matt Smith (centre) and comedian Jack Whitehall

Fulham player Matt Smith, 25, currently on loan at Bristol City, tweeted, external a photograph of himself meeting namesake actor Matt Smith - best known as the 11th incarnation of Doctor Who - and comedian Jack Whitehall.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen was impressed by Martin Skrtel's stoppage-time header to claim a point for Liverpool against Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday. He tweeted:, external "Not many better sights than someone attacking the ball and thumping a header into the onion bag!!!"

AND FINALLY...

New Club World Cup champions Real Madrid top Uefa's latest club co-efficient rankings, followed by Barcelona and Bayern Munich, in third. Chelsea are England's highest representatives in fourth, with Arsenal in eighth and Manchester United 10th. Manchester City climb from 22nd to 14th.(Uefa.com), external

The falling Russian rouble has added £32.6m to the cost of rebuilding Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, which will host the final of the 2018 Fifa World Cup.(Washington Post), external

Liverpool's stadium announcer was forced to plead with fans at Anfield to stop using a whistle during their 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.(Daily Mail), external