Gossip: Pato, Vidic, Cavani, Ramirez, Xhaka, Berahino

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Chelsea have agreed an £8m deal for Corinthians' 26-year-old Brazil striker Alexandre Pato. (Daily Express), external

Pato is willing to take a pay cut to join Chelsea, and has agreed a three-year deal in principle. (Daily Mail), external

The arrival of Pato could see striker Radamel Falcao, 29, end his loan spell at Chelsea and return to parent club Monaco.(Guardian), external

South American football expert Tim Vickery says big clubs are "playing poker" with Brazilian Pato.(BBC Radio 5 live)

Image source, Mirror
Image caption,

The Daily Mirror lead their sport pages on Liverpool and Tottenham winning their FA Cup third-round replays

Aston Villa are in talks with former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, 34, about a return to the Premier League. (Sun), external

Manchester United are considering making a bid for Paris St-Germain's Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, 28. (ESPN), external

Arsenal are willing to spend £37m on Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 23, who could leave Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer. (Daily Star), external

Xhaka joked with reporters he has already asked the Gunners' French midfielder Francis Coquelin, 24, for the number 34 jersey. (London Evening Standard), external

Chelsea midfielder Pedro, 28, wants to leave the club only five months after joining from Barcelona in a £21m transfer. (Daily Star), external

Saido Berahino is being kept waiting over whether he will be allowed to leave West Brom this month. The 22-year-old striker would like to join Tottenham, but the Baggies are keen to sell him to Newcastle for £15m. (Daily Mirror), external

Chelsea failed to include a sell-on clause when former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku moved to Everton in 2014. The 22-year-old, whom the Toffees value at £60m, has been linked with Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. (Times), external

Fellow West Brom striker Salomon Rondon, 26, says he is feeling the pressure of having cost £12m. (Birmingham Mail), external

Tottenham are ready to pay Sandro Ramirez's £9m release clause to sign the 20-year-old Spanish striker from Barcelona this month. (Daily Express), external

France defender Eliaquim Mangala, 24, may have cost Manchester City £42m rather than the £32m they originally claimed, according to a leaked transfer document. (Manchester Evening News), external

Image source, Telegraph
Image caption,

The Daily Telegraph depicts Sheyi Ojo celebrating his goal for Liverpool in the FA Cup

Standard Liege are set to offer Spanish keeper Victor Valdes, 34, a way out of Old Trafford with a loan move until the end of the season.(Daily Mail), external

Premier League clubs will receive their share of the record-breaking £5.14bn broadcast deal a month early to boost spending in the summer transfer window.(Times), external

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is offering Italian forward Fabio Borini, 24, back to Swansea City in a bid to sign Ghana international Andre Ayew, 26.(Sun), external

But the Black Cats have given up their hopes of signing Lorient and Ivory Coast defender Lamine Kone, 26.(Sunderland Echo), external

Real Madrid are closing in on £10m deal for 18-year-old Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur from Boca Juniors.(Daily Mirror), external

Stoke City have had a £7m bid for 23-year-old Burnley defender Michael Keane rejected.(Metro), external

However, the Championship club insist they have not received any bids for the highly rated former Manchester United player.(Lancashire Evening Telegraph), external

West Ham will not consider letting 23-year-old midfielder Pedro Obiang leave in the January transfer window.(London Evening Standard), external

Daniel Sturridge's poor injury record at Liverpool means the 26-year-old England striker's cost to the club is now a staggering £542,000 per goal.(Independent), external

West Ham are confident of completing a loan deal for 28-year-old Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike from Fenerbahce.(Daily Telegraph), external

Manager Alan Pardew says Crystal Palace are unlikely to make a big-money "statement signing" this January. (Croydon Advertiser), external

Newcastle are determined not to sell France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 26, and Spanish forward Ayoze Perez, 22, during this January's transfer window, but will listen to offers for forward Yoan Gouffran, 29, and midfield Sylvain Marveaux, 29.(Newcastle Chronicle), external

A female footballer in Spain who said a referee tried to ask her out during a game will not file a formal complaint because it is her word against his. Romanian defender Elena Pavel accused referee Santiago Quijada Alcon of trying to provoke her by asking her on a date in Sporting Huelva's first-division game against Santa Teresa on Sunday.(Marca), external

Swansea have made contact with Liverpool about Joe Allen, to see if they can tempt the 25-year-old Wales midfielder back to the Liberty Stadium.(Wales online), external

Best of BBC Radio 5 live

BBC pundit Pat Nevin believes Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will sell striker Christian Benteke, 25, for "a big dollop" of money to make funds available for new players.

Film stars Kevin Hart and Ice Cube paid a visit to Manchester City during their promotional tour for Ride Along 2, and said they went to Etihad Stadium because they weren't invited by Manchester United.

BBC Radio 5 live's Mark Pougatch, Tim Vickery and Pat Nevin discuss the future of former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli - with Nevin hinting that he could be appointed as the new Chelsea manager.

Best of social media

Brazil legend Cafu tweeted about the return of Jon Flanagan, external to Liverpool's first-team following a long injury lay-off. The pair met years ago and Cafu said: "I have a thousand tweets! I guess it's the return of a friend to the field!!! @LFC."

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick tweeted about missing a train, external on Wednesday, and instantly regretted it after being bombarded with responses about his lack of pace.

Image source, Twitter

Full-back Sam Byram tweeted a thank you message, external to Leeds fans as he left the club to join West Ham on a four-and-a-half year deal. The 22-year-old said it was an "honour and a privilege" to play for the club - and posted a picture of himself as a 10-year-old academy player.

Image source, Sam Byram

Jermaine Pennant was delighted to find out restaurant chain Nandos delivered in Singapore, where the former Stoke and Liverpool midfielder is now playing. The 33-year-old tweeted:, external "No way..... Nandos do delivery here!!!!! Amazing news haha."

And finally...

Did Liverpool receive some divine intervention in their win over Exeter in their FA Cup third-round replay? Joe Allen scored the opener in their 3-0 win, but his name came up as Jesus on some live score sites. (Metro), external

Image source, Livescore.com

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo distracted team-mate Sergio Ramos during a conversation with the club's president by flicking his ear, as they posed for a team photo with new manager Zinedine Zidane. (Daily Mail), external

A policeman is facing six months in jail after allegedly recording a video of himself with Barcelona striker Lionel Messi's passport, which was then posted on social media. (Independent), external

Sportswear manufacturer Adidas sent Petr Cech's goalkeeping gloves to his former club Chelsea, despite him leaving the Blues last summer to join London rivals Arsenal. (Daily Telegraph), external

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