Transfer Gossip

MANYOO TO GIVE RONALDO A GET-OUT CLAUSE FOR NEXT YEAR
Manchester United's cunning plan to persuade Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at the club will be to tell him he can leave next summer instead.

But that's not Fergie's plan. While The Sun's back page announces that United's owners will give Ronaldo a £65m get-out clause, the small print includes the intriguing detail that 'they will first have to sway boss Alex Ferguson who is dead against selling the Portugal winger'.

Ronaldo is due back in Manchester this week for a check-up on his injured ankle and is also expected to hold a meeting with Ferguson.

The Sun quotes a 'United insider saying: "Sir Alex is determined he will not let Ronaldo go now, if only on principle.

"But there are one or two people at United who are thinking 'What's the point of hanging on to him?' when Real are ready to offer so much money.

"And Ronaldo will miss the start of the season in any case through injury.

"One solution being looked at is for Ronaldo to stay one more season, with the guarantee he can go for an agreed fee at the end of next season."


SPURS TO ACTUALLY SIGN A DEFENDER RATHER THAN ANOTHER FORWARD
A host of newspapers claim this fine morning that Tottenham are close to signing Vedran Corluka from Manchester City in a deal worth almost £7m.

The Croatian was predominantly used as a right-back last season by City but Spurs apparently view him as a future partner for Jonathan Woodgate in the centre of their defence as doubts persist about Ledley King's long-term fitness.

According to The Times, 'City are willing to sell a player who made 35 league appearances last season so that they can fund a move for a recognised right-back. They have enough cover in central defence, with Richard Dunne, Micah Richards, Nedum Onuoha, and Tal Ben-Haim, recently signed from Chelsea.'


BUT THEY ARE STILL CHASING TWO MORE FORWARDS
But the gossip about Spurs doesn't end there.

Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed that Spurs have bid around £16m for Andrei Arshavin and although that offer has been rejected, The Independent claims the North London outfit are hopeful that a deal can be brokered by the player's agent. Personal terms are said to have been agreed - with Arshavin set to earn a relatively modest £50k a week.

Meanwhile, The Sun makes the remarkable claim that 'Tottenham are ready to smash the British transfer record with a sensational £32million swoop for Valencia superstar David Villa.'

The deal will be financed by Dimitar Berbatov's sale to Manchester United. It's difficult not to be sceptical because if Berbatov leaves then Spurs will require a centre-forward rather than an in-the-hole striker and Villa is only an inch taller than a dwarf.

Anyway, The Sun reckons 'Levy is encouraged by recent comments from Villa's agent Jose Luis Tamargo and he is confident of snatching the star from under the noses of giants Real Madrid.

'The Spurs supremo is prepared to make Villa Tottenham's top earner with a huge £100,000-a-week deal.'

Ahem! Random extract from The Indy's story on Arshavin: 'Although Tottenham are far from being the most lucrative payers in the Premier League it is understood that Arshavin is prepared to settle for the best they can offer him, thought to be around £50,000-a-week.'


SENOR RED TO NORTH LONDON'S REDS
Real Madrid's De la Red is the latest midfielder to be linked with Arsenal.

And if you are also wondering why you haven't seen this chap play for Madrid, Transfer Gossip can reveal, courtesy of reading The Daily Telegraph, that De la Red has just returned to the club after what they can an 'impressive' loan spell at Getafe and the Spaniards are willing to sell him because they won't be able to accommodate him in their first team.


A SECOND YOUNG AT VILLA
Watch out Big Four! Villa have spotted the player they need to make a dramatic breakthrough next season: erm, Middlesbrough's Luke Young.

After an entire summer in which to find a solution to his problem position at right-back, Martin O'Neill has reputedly made an approach to Middlesbrough.

'The north-eastern club are reluctantly considering whether to sanction Young's departure little more than 12 months after the former England international arrived on Teesside from Charlton Athletic. Middlesbrough paid £2.5m for Young last July and it is likely that Gareth Southgate would demand significantly more than that to allow the 29-year-old to leave on the eve of the season,' reports The Guardian.

However, while Young is expected to favour a move to Villa Park, it remains a distinct possibility that Steve Finnan will be used as a makeweight in Gareth Barry's imminent transfer from Villa to Liverpool.


SAHA AND ONE OF ENGLAND'S WORST-EVER PLAYERS TO SUNDERLAND
Talk of Louis Saha moving from Manchester United to Sunderland has rumbled on for a few weeks now but The Sun believes that a resolution is close.

The paper claims that 'Roy Keane is on the brink of completing an £8.5million swoop for Manchester United striker Louis Saha. Sunderland boss Keano will make the out-of-favour Old Trafford star the biggest earner in the club's history on £50,000 a week.'

The Black Cats are also reported to be interested in Reading's soon-to-leave left-back Nicky Shorey. The England international (we know, we know) is also wanted at Villa and Pompey but 'Keane is ready to pounce with a £3m offer for the England left-back.'


DESPERATION STRIKES
David Moyes said yesterday that he was getting rather desperate in his chase for the 'five or six' new players he wants before the start of the season, and if the rumours this morning are true then he is damn well showing it.

For assorted rags report that he is lining up a bid for Newcastle's Alan Smith, described variously as a striker and a midfielder, but based on last season's showings he's neither.

Still, most of the reports claim Moyes will only pay £1.5million for Smith, proving that while he might be desperate, he isn't stupid.


AND THE REST...
Everton are ready to agree a compromise deal to allow Andy Johnson to join Fulham...Hull boss Phil Brown is making a shock move for Benfica's Ariza Makukula...Tottenham have pulled the plug on their move for Derby's Stephen Bywater...Ipswich and Hull are both in the chase to sign former Bolton star Ivan Campo...Hull chairman Paul Duffen won't take 'no' for an answer from Sir Alex Ferguson in his bid to land Fraizer Campbell on loan.