Today's tell-all can confirm our Football Weekly podcast will be back tomorrow
Say it ain't so, Carlo, say it ain't so. After a seemingly interminable bout of flirting, it seems that Real Madrid and Spurs might not actually get around to sealing the deal, with today's Telegraph reporting that Real Madrid's interest in signing Gareth Bale has "cooled" in the wake of a successful pre-season campaign which suggests the Spanish side don't actually need the Welsh winger. The paper reports that Real manager Carlo Ancelotti has told his chairman Florentino Pérez that Bale doesn't feature in his plans, while Real Madrid supporters are believed to think the astronomical transfer fees being mentioned in connection with Bale's prospective move to the Spanish capital are absurdly high. Add the communal shoulder-shrug with which assorted Real players have greeted the prospect of being joined by the hottest property in British football and the conclusion arrived at by Telegraph scribes is that the door might now be open for Manchester United to pounce.
By contrast, the Mirror reports that Real wish to "restart talks" with Spurs with a view to bringing Bale to the Bernabéu and say the player does feature in Ancelotti's plans. The Rumour Mill, by contrast, isn't going to pretend to have a notion what's going on and is instead going to rattle through the rest of today's speculation before drawing the curtains and going for a lie-down on its fainting couch with a damp cloth on our furrowed brow.
Good news for Arsenal fans: Guardian contributor Fernando Duarte, the garrulous bass-playing UK correspondent for Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo is so well in with the Brazilian national team that at least half this summer's Confederations Cup-winning squad have giant tattoos of his face on their backs, so if he says Bayern Munich defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo is open to a £14m move to Arsenal, you can take that to the bank. Or the Post Office. Or just put it in a biscuit tin and hide it under your bed.
In their desperation to hog as much space as possible in today's Rumour Mill, Tottenham Hotspur have joined Liverpool in the dash to sign Black Eyed Peas frontman Willian from Anzhi Makachkala for £35m. The big-haired Brazilian midfielder moved to Anzhi from Shakhtar Donetsk for £32m last January, but with Anzhi trying to cut costs, he is one of several big names, along with Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o (who unlike Elvis Costello, does want to go to Chelsea), the Dagestan club are hoping to show the door. Willian had been touted as a potential recruit for Manchester City, but rumours suggest the club's manager Manuel Pellegrini has little interest in bringing the 25-year-old to Eastlands. The Chilean does, however, want Real Madrid centre-back Pepe, but may have to settle for Schalke's Greek centre-half Kyriakos Papadopoulos or Napoli skipper Paolo Cannavaro should the sneaky Portuguese bruiser decide to stay put in Madrid.
Crystal Palace have decided to bring Darren Bent to Selhurst Park on loan, with a view to making him a permanent signing should they achieve Premier League survival this season. The Aston Villa outcast's name was being mentioned in connection with a move to Newcastle, presumably because he's English and his surname only has four letters, making it easy for Magpies director of football Joe Kinnear to pronounce. Today's Daily Star reports that Newcastle are likely to miss out on transfer targets Bent and Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis, due to an unwillingness on their part to pay what they feel are ridiculously high agents' fees, which means JFK will now turn his attention to the Belgian club Genk and their 24-year-old striker Jelle Vossen.
Having earned last year's Championship player of the year gong due in no small part to the 20 goals he scored while on loan at Watford from Udinese, 21-year-old Czech striker Matej Vydra looks to be on his way to West Brom, where he'll join Shane Long and Nicolas Anelka in the quest for goals. Baggies boss Steve Clarke is also hopeful of adding Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair, a fine player at Swansea before losing his way in the wake of his big money move to Manchester City, to the Baggies rank and file.
In his fascinating Guardian interview with arch-interrogator Donald McRae, Sky pundit Gary Neville confesses that despite liking to think he's well read well read on football he'd "never heard of 50-60%" of the list of players signed into the Premier League thus far this summer. The Rumour Mill is willing to bet that the name of Guilherme Siqueira is not with Gary is familiar with, but he might have to do some homework if news of Liverpool's interest in the Granada left-back turns out to have foundation.
Meanwhile in the Championship, Blackpool have decided former Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller would be a vision in tangerine and are ready to give the striker a one-year deal after asking him to cough for their doctor yesterday. Despite having been released by Charlton Athletic at the end of last season, the 33-year-old has been training with the Addicks, whose manager Chris Powell says he is prepared to give him a new deal. If, like the Rumour Mill you're an old romantic and want to view Ricardo's lovely wedding photos, click on this link without further ado. Or, indeed, "I do".
via Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/13/football-transfer-rumours-gareth-bale
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