Gossip column: Guardiola, Pedro, Bender, Berbatov

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Manchester City are sure they will appoint Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola, 44, as their boss next summer on a £20m-a-year contract. The former Barcelona coach says he is "not convinced" about signing a new deal with his German club. (Sun - subscription required), external

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has no plans to offload any of the club's players as Manchester United look to sign their 28-year-old forward Pedro. (ESPN), external

Chelsea have agreed a fee of £17.6m to sign 21-year-old Augsburg left-back Baba Rahman. (Bild Sport - in German), external

Image source, The Sun
Image caption,

The Sun backpage

Captain John Terry is backing 29-year-old striker Radamel Falcao to become a hit at Chelsea, saying the Colombian needed just two minutes to show he could make it in a game at Stamford Bridge last season. (Daily Star), external

Tottenham are stepping up their efforts to sign Borussia Dortmund's 26-year-old defensive midfielder Sven Bender. (Daily Mirror), external

Spurs must pay £14m to sign Lyon and Cameroon forward Clinton N'Jie, 21. (Sun - subscription required), external

Aston Villa have approached West Bromwich Albion with a £1m offer for 32-year-old defender Joleon Lescott. (Daily Mail) , external

Spain striker Fernando Torres, 31, says he is on the hunt for trophies at Atletico Madrid. (FourFourTwo), external

Gianfranco Zola, manager at Qatar side Al-Arabi, says he would "give a thought" to signing striker Mario Balotelli, 24, from Liverpool. (Sun - subscription required), external

Crystal Palace could scupper Leicester City's move for former Inter Milan midfielder Alessandro Cannataro, 20. (Evening Standard), external

Image source, Daily Star
Image caption,

The back page of Saturday's Daily Star focuses on Sunday's Community Shield game between Chelsea and Arsenal at Wembley

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, 34, is close to joining Aston Villa on a free transfer after leaving Monaco. (Daily Express), external

Norwich City manager Alex Neil says the club are close to signing Blackburn goalkeeper Jake Kean, 24, to provide back-up to number one John Ruddy.(Norwich Evening News), external

Striker Kevin Doyle, 31, does not think his move to Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids will hinder his chances with the Republic of Ireland.(Irish Times), external

Centre-half Sebastian Coates, 24, says it was an "easy" decision to leave Liverpool this summer and rejoin Sunderland on a permanent basis.(Sunderland Echo), external

Five Championship clubs have expressed interest in Sunderland's 25-year-old winger Will Buckley.(Shields Gazette), external

Cardiff City striker Kenwyne Jones, 30, missed a friendly against Bournemouth amid reports of a loan move to Sheffield Wednesday.(Wales Online), external

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers expects forward Christian Benteke, 24, to prove "a bargain" after his £32.5m move from Aston Villa.(Times - subscription required), external

Newcastle United fans have reacted with anger to the decision to switch their match at Bournemouth - 359 miles away - to a lunchtime kick-off.(Daily Mail), external

Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez, 26, will return to first-team action at St Mary's for the first time since March 2014 when the Saints host Espanyol in a friendly on Sunday. Rodriguez has been out with a knee injury.(Southern Daily Echo), external

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, 29, will play for Everton for the first time in 11 years on Sunday having accepted an invitation to appear in 43-year-old former Toffees striker Duncan Ferguson's testimonial against Villarreal.(Guardian), external

Best of social media

Image source, Cesc Fabregas | Instagram
Image caption,

#winningteam

Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas looks to be getting on well with new signing Radamel Falcao, posting on Instagram: #winningteam, external

The same haircut, but the smile seems to have disappeared. Having signed a new contract, forward Theo Walcott has posted a picture on Instagram, external of himself throughout the years at Arsenal.

Image source, Theo Walcott | Instagram
Image caption,

'Just the usual please'

Manchester City forward David Silva, 29, has posted a picture of himself and Stevan Jovetic on Twitter, external with the message: "A pleasure playing by your side 'amigo' @stevanj35 .Good luck in your new stage." Jovetic has joined Inter Milan.

And finally...

Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has decided to stay with his number 45 shirt at new club Newcastle because "four plus five is nine". (Chronicle), external

'Missing' Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria, 27, has been 'found' - on a building site in Cheshire. (Manchester Evening News), external