Rumours on Friday 26th December

(26/12/2008 09:15:15)

Latest football rumours from today's newspapers.

• Fulham defender Brede Hangeland will not be moving on in January, despite interest from Arsenal and Liverpool following a highly impressive first few months in English football. (The Sun)



• Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos has made Aston Villa winger Ashley Young his top transfer target and is willing to bid £25m in January. (Daily Star)



• Benni McCarthy wants to leave Blackburn in January. Having been used sparingly by former Rovers boss Paul Ince, the striker was dismayed to be substituted by new manager Sam Allardyce when going for a hat-trick against Stoke last week. (Daily Mail)



• Spanish holding midfielder Marcus Senna is considering signing for Manchester City. The 32-year-old was one of the stars of Spain's Euro 2008 success. (Daily Mail)



• Jermaine Pennant will sign for Real Madrid after the Spanish giants came back offering improved terms to the Liverpool winger. (Various)



• Emile Heskey will rejoin Liverpool from Wigan in January for £4m - £2m less than he left Anfield for in 2004. (Various)



• West Ham United defender Matthew Upson is high up Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear's wish-list. (Daily Telegraph)



• However, Upson will only leave Upton Park for a top-four club. (The Times)



• Robert Green and Craig Bellamy could also leave West Ham in January, while squad players Luis Boa Morte, Calum Davenport, Nigel Quashie, Julien Faubert and Danny Gabbidon are also expendable. (The Times)



• The Hammers have rejected a £6m bid by Tottenham Hotspur for Bellamy and will only sell the Wales international for around £15m. (Various)



• One player keen to sign for West Ham is Sam Dalla Bona, the Napoli midfielder was an occasional team-mate of West Ham manager Zola's at Chelsea. (Daily Mirror)



• Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati is close to agreeing a deal with Atlanta. He has already enjoyed two previous spells with the Italian club. (Daily Record)



• James McCarthy and James McArthur will continue to confuse commentators by staying at Hamilton Academicals beyond January, despite interest from several SPL sides. (Daily Record)

OTHER GOSSIP

• Arsenal are still title contenders, according to boss Arsene Wenger. (Daily Express)



• But Aston Villa, two places and three points above Arsenal in the table going into their Boxing Day fixture, are not contenders in Wenger's view. (Various)



• Mark Hughes believes Manchester City can still finish in the top 10 this season, despite currently languishing in the bottom three. (The Times)



• Wigan striker Amr Zaki will be dropped and fined £30,000 after coming home late from Egypt. (Daily Mirror)

AND FINALLY

• Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has told his critics that he wants to see their faces when his club are crowned champions. (Daily Express)

(Source = BBC Sport)