Football gossip: Fred, Kane, Hughes, Werner, Allegri, Wenger

Liverpool are considering making a bid for RB Leipzig's 22-year-old German forward Timo Werner. (Independent)

Manchester City are unlikely to sign Shakhtar Donetsk's 25-year-old Brazilian midfielder Fred, but he remains a target for Manchester United. (Times - subscription required)

Southampton hope to appoint Mark Hughes as their new manager on Wednesday. The former Stoke boss has been offered a contract until the end of the season. (Telegraph)

Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane will be out until May after scans showed the 24-year-old has damaged his ankle ligaments more than was previously suspected. (Mirror)

Everton are hoping to sign Arsenal's 26-year-old England midfielder Jack Wilshere on a free transfer this summer. (Mirror)

Sam Allardyce will try to sign Manchester United and England centre-back Phil Jones, 26, for Everton if he is still manager at Goodison Park next season. (Times - subscription required)

Meanwhile, Steve Walsh will urge Everton to make a move for Leicester's 31-year-old England striker Jamie Vardy this summer - if he stays on as director of football. (Liverpool Echo)

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has revealed there is no chance the club will sign Barcelona's 30-year-old Argentina forward Lionel Messi. (Sun)

West Ham will appoint a director of football at the end of the season in a bid to improve their transfer strategy - a key source of fan dissatisfaction. (Evening Standard)

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis wants Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri to replace Arsene Wenger as the club's new manager. (Star)

West Brom could save themselves £1m by keeping hold of manager Alan Pardew until July. (Mirror)

Middlesbrough's 26-year-old Danish forward Martin Braithwaite wants to make his Bordeaux loan move permanent this summer. (Evening Gazette, via Gold FM)

Germany defender Per Mertesacker, 33, has revealed he will quit Arsenal at the end of the season. (Mail)

Tottenham face losing forward Son Heung-min, 25, to the South Korean Army for two years. Under Korean law, all men must do 21 months of national service before they turn 28. (Sun)

Neymar "has a future" at Paris St-Germain, the 25-year-old Brazil forward's father has said, amid reports of an exit from the French club. (ESPN)

Crystal Palace are willing to sell naming rights for their Selhurst Park ground to help fund a £100m redevelopment of the stadium. (Evening Standard)

The Premier League failed to enforce a ban on Owen Oyston being the owner and a director of Blackpool following the club's promotion in 2010. (Guardian)

• Mourinho's Man Utd went out with a whimper - McCoist

• Tuesday's gossip column

Back pages