TRANSFER GOSSIP
Arsenal have moved ahead of Manchester United in the race for Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, 25, as they prepare a £32m bid. (Daily Express)
Arsene Wenger will have a transfer budget of about £20m in the January transfer window even after a record summer spending spree at Arsenal which saw Alexis Sanchez, Calum Chambers, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina and Danny Welbeck join the Gunners. (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea are ready to offer 27-year-old Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, who is in the final year of his contract at the Bernabeu, a pre-contract in January. (Evening Standard)
Chelsea could be set to loan a number of high-profile players to Turkey after they agreed a new partnership deal with Besiktas. (Daily Telegraph)
Frank Lampard insists he is still preparing to leave Manchester City when his loan deal ends in January, despite speculation the 36-year-old former England midfielder would extend his stay with the Premier League champions. (Manchester Evening News)
Midfielder Tom Cleverley, 25, could yet return to Manchester United when his season-long loan at Aston Villa ends, United's academy director Brian McClair has said. (Manchester Evening News)
Sunderland have made a request to take Barcelona's 18-year-old Croatian midfielder Alen Halilovic on loan. (Daily Mail)
OTHER GOSSIP
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has revealed his desire to one day manage Manchester United, according to a book chronicling his first season in charge of the German club. (Daily Telegraph)
Former Barcelona manager Guardiola has also revealed that he turned down the chance to become boss at Manchester City and Chelsea in order to take over at the Allianz Arena. (Sun - subscription required)
Monaco are keeping in close contact with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, with the French club keen to tempt him away from the Gunners and back to the club he managed between 1987 and 1994. (Daily Mail)
QPR are thought to be considering replacing manager Harry Redknapp with another former Tottenham boss, Tim Sherwood. (Evening Standard)
However, the west London club are also considering former Stoke and Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis as a replacement for Redknapp. (Times - subscription required)
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says he is still hopeful of getting a chance to manage England in the future. (Daily Express)
Gareth Southgate will be handed a new £10,000-a-week deal from the Football Association after leading England Under-21s to next year's European Championship finals in the Czech Republic. (Sun - subscription required)
Southgate could be in line for an even bigger prize, though, in the future as he is being lined up to replace Roy Hodgson as manager of the senior England side. (Daily Mirror)
England boss Hodgson is expected to hold talks with Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers on Sunday to resolve their differences over the the treatment of players during their time on England duty. (Times - subscription required)
Manchester United's 28-year-old Colombian striker Radamel Falcao tried to get an British passport at the age of 13, because his great-grandfather came from Yorkshire. (Daily Mail)
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will ask Lille to terminate Divock Origi's loan so the 19-year-old striker can return to Anfield in January. (Daily Express)
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul, 26, will play through the pain of elbow ligament damage against Leicester on Saturday to help save manager Alan Pardew's job. (Daily Star)
Goalkeeper Steve Harper, 39, has put aside thoughts of retirement as he aims to make the most of a Premier League swansong with Hull. (Hull Daily Mail)
Brentford have offered a new deal to experienced defender Tony Craig, 29. (GetWestLondon)
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard, 23, claims public criticism from Jose Mourinho is making him a better player but insists they "get on really well". (Daily Mirror)
Forward Theo Walcott, 25, is in line to play his first match in more than nine months for the Arsenal Under-21s against Blackburn Rovers on Friday. (Guardian)
Burnley boss Sean Dyche is doing a "fantastic" job at Turf Moor, according to former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. (Lancashire Evening Telegraph)
Centre-back Sylvain Distin, 36, has reached make-or-break time in his hopes of extending his Everton career beyond this season, believes former Blues defender Derek Mountfield. (Liverpool Echo)
Former Rangers director and businessman Dave King is confident a deal can be struck over his proposed £16m bailout of the club following crunch talks with the board. (Daily Record)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, 34, posted a youthful-looking picture of himself on Instagram. He wrote: "11 years ago today I became the captain of my boyhood team one of the proudest days of my career. It's a huge honour to captain this great club #YNWA."
France's Layvin Kurzawa, 22, will regret taunting Sweden with an army-style salute after scoring to put his team ahead on away goals in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier. Oscar Lewicki, 22, popped up to score his second goal of the night and give Sweden a 4-1 victory and they went through 4-3 on aggregate, which led to several army style salute pictures from the Swedes on Twitter and Instagram. (Daily Mail)
AND FINALLY
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, 50, who once rugby tackled ex-Germany international Maurizio Gaudino during a football match at Wembley, was caught on camera chopping down a nine-year-old boy during a kick-about photo opportunity on Wednesday. (Daily Mail)