Wednesday’s news and transfer rumour roundup.
Toronto striker Jermain Defoe, 32, has agreed a £14m deal to return to English football permanently with Sunderland – (Daily Express)
Arsenal remain confident of agreeing a deal for Legia Warsaw midfielder Krystian Bielik, 17, despite Hamburg emerging as major rivals for his signature – (London’s Evening Standard)
West Brom boss Tony Pulis wants to offload striker Georgios Samaras, 29 to bring in Blackburn forward Rudy Gestede, 26 – (Daily Mirror)
Southampton are lining up a move for £15m-rated Braga midfielder Rafa Silva, 21 – (Daily Mirror)
Paris St-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, 29, is set for an £8m switch to Liverpool as PSG line up Nicolas Gaitan, 26, as his replacement – (Daily Express)
Manchester City are considering a £20m move for Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez, 25 – (Daily Mail)
West Ham are looking to complete a permanent move for ex-Arsenal midfielder and Manchester United target Alex Song, 27 – (Marca)
Arsenal are considering launching a £12m bid to sign Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin, 22 – (Daily Express)
Burnley boss Sean Dyche is confident striker Danny Ings is not being affected by speculation surrounding his future. The 22-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has been linked with Sunderland and Newcastle – (Sunderland Echo)
Ramon Calderon, the former president of Real Madrid, insists the Spanish club have no need for 24-year-old Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea – because Iker Casillas is better. (talkSPORT)
Harry Redknapp’s future as Queens Park Rangers boss is in the balance with a growing belief he could be sacked if his side lose to Manchester United on Saturday – (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry says Gunners fans who have protested against Arsene Wenger are “out of order” – (Times – subscription required)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino fears 21-year-old striker Harry Kane is in danger of burnout – (Daily Express)
Aston Villa fans are being urged to mount a stay-away protest on Saturday – to help force out owner Randy Lerner – (Daily Mail)
The Football Association is determined to stop the use of an appeals process to sign the non-European Union players who, the governing body fears, block the progress of young English footballers – (Independent)
Senior players have urged the Newcastle United board to make their minds up about the identity of Alan Pardew’s successor –(Guardian)
Manchester United fans have claimed that they are being ripped off after first Yeovil and then Cambridge United hiked ticket prices for their FA Cup clashes with the Reds – (Daily Mail)
Arsenal have offered Chuba Akpom a new three-year deal as they try to keep the 19-year-old striker at the club – (London’s Evening Standard)
West Brom defender Gareth McAuley, 35, says the club need new players in the transfer window – (Birmingham Mail)
Levski Sofia attacking midfielder Bozhidar Kraev, 17, has completed a trial at Manchester City after attracting a number of European clubs including Juventus – (Manchester Evening News)
Arsenal and Manchester United have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels, after the defender insisted he remains happy in Germany – (Metro)
Former Premier League footballer Clarke Carlisle, who was seriously injured in a collision with a lorry back in December, is awake in hospital – (Daily Mirror)
Adnan Januzaj has admitted that he is ready to leave the club on loan in search of more regular game time – (Daily Star)
Aston Villa have completed a £2.5m deal to sign Valencia starlet Carles Gil – (Daily Express)
West Brom have contacted Manchester United about the possibility of signing Darren Fletcher – (Sky Sports)