Football gossip: Higuain, Suarez, Lallana, Morata, Ozil, Gomez, De Jong

Last updated on Thursday, 17 January at 16:00 GMT

Chelsea are trying to complete the signing of Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, 31, from Juventus in time for him to make his debut against Arsenal on Saturday. (London Evening Standard)

Liverpool are monitoring Schalke's 20-year-old USA midfielder Weston McKennie. (Sun)

Arsenal manager Unai Emery says "primitive" talks have been held with Barcelona's 25-year-old Spanish midfielder Denis Suarez, but admits it will not be easy to conclude any deals this month. (Mirror)

Inter Milan are set to offer a new contract to 23-year-old Slovakia defender Milan Skriniar, who has been linked with Manchester United and Manchester City. (Calciomercato)

Sheffield Wednesday are in discussions to sign Fulham's Congo midfielder Neeskens Kebano, 26, on loan. (Sheffield Star)

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard says defender Joe Worrall will remain on loan from Nottingham Forest for the rest of the season and has ruled out moves for Liverpool's England midfielder Adam Lallana, 30 and Lazio's English midfielder Ravel Morrison, 25. (Daily Record)

Thursday morning gossip

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Gonzalo Higuain after making an offer to Juventus for the Argentina striker, who is on loan at AC Milan. The Blues have offered to take Higuain on loan until the end of the season with the option to buy the 31-year-old or loan him for a further 12 months. (Telegraph)

Atletico Madrid are in advanced talks to sign Chelsea's Spain striker Alvaro Morata, 26, who is valued at £45m. (Sky Sports)

Arsenal are willing to pay some of former Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil's wages if they can offload him. The 29-year-old has fallen out of favour but is the club's highest-paid player on £350,000 a week. (Mirror)

West Ham have lined up Celta Vigo's Uruguay striker Maxi Gomez, 22, as a potential replacement if 29-year-old Austria forward Marko Arnautovic leaves. (Sky Sports)

Manchester City are set to lose out to Paris St-Germain for Ajax's Netherlands midfielder Frenkie De Jong. The 21-year-old would prefer to join City and play for Pep Guardiola, but PSG are the only club willing to meet Ajax's £66m asking price. (Mirror)

Manchester City and Chelsea are keen to sign Spurs midfielder Christian Eriksen, although Real Madrid remain favourites to sign the 26-year-old. (AS)

Chelsea want to sell striker Michy Batshuayi, 25, to Everton in a £40m deal. Everton can only sign the Belgium striker on a permanent deal because they already have France defender Kurt Zouma, 24, on loan from Chelsea. (Star)

Batshuayi is desperate to complete a loan move to Monaco. (Telegraph)

Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, 28, is on course to sign a new big-money deal at Manchester United. (Mirror)

Manchester United are set to scout PSV Eindhoven's Netherlands winger Steven Bergwijn, 21, with a view to making a £25m bid this month. (Sun)

Chelsea's Alvaro Morata, 26, and Olivier Giroud, 32, Tottenham's Fernando Llorente, 33, West Ham's Lucas Perez, 30, and Girona's Cristhian Stuani, 32, are on Barcelona's shortlist for a back-up centre-forward. (Mail)

Antonio Valencia, 33, has told Manchester United that he will remain at the club until the summer, even if they do not extend his contract. (Times - subscription required)

Liverpool's Belgium striker Divock Origi, 23, is among the players Tottenham are considering signing as injured England striker Harry Kane is out until March. (Telegraph)

Tottenham have planned a "top-level meeting" to discuss how to deal with Kane's absence over the next couple of months. Loan signings are being considered, as well as the potential promotion of 16-year-old academy striker Troy Parrott. (Talksport)

Bayern Munich say they are in talks to sign Chelsea's 18-year-old English winger Callum Hudson-Odoi. (Bild via Four Four Two)

Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told midfielder Paul Pogba, 25, that he will build his team around him. (Sun)

Liverpool's Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, 30, is set to stay at the club until the end of the season. (ESPN)

However Liverpool are keen to get rid of Serbian winger Lazar Markovic, 24, who has failed to make an impact since his £20m move from Benfica and whose contract expires in the summer. (Liverpool Echo)

Cardiff City are close to agreeing a deal to sign Argentine striker Emiliano Sala, 28, from Nantes for about £18m. (Sky Sports)

Fulham have moved for 24-year-old Ghana defender Joseph Attamah, who plays for Istanbul Basaksehir. (Mail)

Crystal Palace expect Manchester City and Chelsea to step up their interest in 21-year-old right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the summer. (Times - subscription required)

Manchester City have reached an agreement with Hajduk Split to sign highly rated 18-year-old central midfielder Ante Palaversa for an initial £7m. (Guardian)

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has been accused of making insulting comments about the Dubai royal family, the Islamic faith and Kevin Keegan as he prepares for a high-profile legal battle. (Sun)

• Wednesday's gossip column