Thursday’s transfer rumour gossip.
Liverpool’s bid for former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, 24, collapsed after AC Milan refused to sanction a ‘good behaviour’ clause in the deal – (Daily Star)
Striker Fernando Torres, 30, could leave Chelsea after they held talks with Roma about a swap deal involving 23-year-old Mattia Destro, regarded as one of the most coveted forwards in Europe – (Times – subscription only)
Arsenal have told Galatasaray they will sell forward Lukas Podolski, 29, but not the Turkish side’s other target, 22-year-old striker Joel Campbell – (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United are considering a bid for Real Madrid’s former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, 32 – (Daily Express)
And United have accelerated negotiations with Real for Angel Di Maria. The 26-year-old Argentine winger could travel to England in the next 48 hours – (Mundodeportivo)
Liverpool are to make a £12m loan bid for Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, 28, who is also a target for Manchester United and Juventus – (RMC)
Arsenal are ready to fend off late interest from Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow to sign Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote, 28 – (Daily Star)
Arsenal could also scupper Everton’s move for Paris St-Germain midfielder Clement Chantome, 26, as they close in on his team-mate Adrien Rabiot, 19. The French side will not let both players leave – (Talksport)
Monaco are planning a move for Petr Cech, 32, after the Chelsea goalkeeper started the season as number two to Thibaut Courtois, 22 – (Daily Mirror)
Hull boss Steve Bruce is considering a move for Blackburn’s £12m-rated striker Jordan Rhodes, 24, after Robert Snodgrass was ruled out for six months – (Daily Mail)
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller, 24, says he rejected a “tempting” offer to join Manchester United – (Lefigaro)
Meanwhile, Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer says Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, 27, would be a perfect signing for the Bundesliga champions – (Bild)
Corinthians central defender Cleber, 23, has arrived in Germany to join Hamburg in a £2.4m transfer – (Bild)
Arsenal are ready to ramp up their interest in William Carvalho and Sami Khedira after captain Mikel Arteta was ruled out for the next few weeks – (Metro)
Napoli have signed Holland midfielder Jonathan de Guzman on a permanent transfer from Spanish side Villarreal for an undisclosed fee – (Sky Sports)
Marcos Rojo has been confirmed as a Manchester United player on a five-year deal and the club’s fans have taken to Twitter to welcome the Argentine – (Metro)
Norwich have completed the transfers of Cameron Jerome for an undisclosed fee from Stoke and free agent Carlos Cuellar – (Sky Sports)
Liverpool have joined Galatasaray in holding an interest in Borussia Monchengladbach defender Alvaro Dominguez, but the player himself will not be drawn on quitting Borussia-Park – (Inside Futbol)
Ajax director of football Marc Overmars has revealed that the club have pulled out of the race to sign Samuel Eto’o after losing patience with the striker – (Goal.com)
West Ham have made an enquiry for Fiorentina defender Facundo Roncaglia, according to reports in Italy – (talkSPORT)
Arsenal have been given a boost in the hunt for Marco Reus after Borussia Dortmund refused to rule out selling their vice-captain – (Metro)
Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed that the club are in contract talks with midfielder Paul Pogba – (Sky Sports)
Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea are battling it out for highly-rated Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva – (Daily Star)
Hull boss Steve Bruce is making an audacious bid to sign Blackburn goal machine Jordan Rhodes to fill Shane Long’s boots – (Daily Mirror)
Real Madrid’s Croatian playmaker Luka Modric has signed a new four-year contract with the Spanish giants – (Sky Sports)