Bringing you the latest news, gossip and rumour from the last 24 hours.
Manchester United may have taken Dimitar Berbatov on the first leg of their pre-season tour, but the striker remains adamant he is keen to quit the club. The latest club to be linked with the former Tottenham attacker is West Ham. The Mirror are reporting that the club are to make an offer to take Berbatov on a season long loan. The 31-year-old says he is keen to avoid another season on the bench, but United want a fee of at least £5 million for him.
The Mail is reporting that Tottenham are the latest club to register an interest in Salomon Rondon. The Venezuelan has been linked with Arsenal and Chelsea so far this transfer window, and that interest could be ramped up with the speculation Malaga are embroiled in a financial mess relating to their own tax affairs. It could also result in Real Madrid signing star midfielder Santi Cazorla, report the paper.
If QPR want to ditch Joey Barton, the opportunity could be just around the corner, with the news Sheffield Wednesday are willing to take him on loan. Manager Dave Jones said he is not worried about the challenge of managing him, and it could just work out. With the player suspended for 12 games he may not make Mark Hughes' 25 man squad, and a loan move would get him back into playing competitive football.
Barton to Sheffield Wednesday?
Goalscoring Spanish midfielder Michu has been linked with Manchester United and Liverpool, but the latest reports indicate that it could be Swansea City who snap him up. He scored 15 goals for Rayo Vallecano last season, and have made a cut price bid of £1.7 million. Sevilla are also interested, and are considering loaning him back to Rayo, which would clearly interest them more. Swansea manager Michael Laudrup has good contacts in La Liga from his time managing there and will hope that the attraction of working under him can help persuade the midfielder to push for a move to the Liberty Stadium.
Fulham are still on the hunt for new additions in attack, and it is being reported that they are in talks to loan Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea. The teenager was being hailed as Europe's brightest striking prospect 12 months ago, but has found chances limited since moving to Stamford Bridge and is yet to score in his limited outings. He has stated he wants to go on loan if he is not a first choice, and a move across West London to help him acclimatise to the Premier League could be the best move for him.
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Dan Coombs
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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.
As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.
He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.
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