Monday's gossip column

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TRANSFER GOSSIP

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry says he is happy at Barcelona and will stay with the Spanish giants, resisting a potential move to Manchester City in January. (Various).

Premier League new boys West Brom are chasing Borussia Dortmund's German under-21 international Marc-Andre Kruska. (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid have revealed they held talks with Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer and are confident of luring him to Spain at the end of the current season. (The Sun)

Blackburn manager Paul Ince is chasing teenage duo Jason Banton from Arsenal and Nathan Eccleston from Liverpool. (Daily Mirror)

Queens Park Rangers are preparing a £2m bid for Peterborough's under-21 keeper Joe Lewis. (Daily Mirror)

Derby manager Paul Jewell is ready to move for Hull defender Wayne Brown after missing out on Stoke's Ryan Shawcross. (Daily Mirror)

Cardiff City are keen on Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith after their hopes of luring Michael Chopra back to Ninian Park were scuppered. (Daily Mirror)

Bolton are stalling on a new deal for keeper Ali Al-Habsi. (The Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

Fabio Capello has told the Football Association to find an alternative venue for February's proposed friendly with Spain.

Capello is keen to protect his players from the racist abuse they suffered at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium in 2004. (Daily Mail.)

The FA is to investigate match-fixing claims into a Championship game last season after strange betting patterns. (Various)

AND FINALLY

Wayne Rooney has been branded as weak by England's next opponents Belarus. (The Sun).

David Beckham and Frank Lampard have become the latest England players to jump the defence of Ashley Cole, who was jeered after his costly error on Saturday. (Daily Mirror)

Madonna has been blamed for the state of the Wembley pitch on Saturday.

The 'Queen of Pop' played a one-off sell-out concert there last month which resulted in the playing surface being damaged. (Daily Mail)

Sheffield United could now demand £50m in compensation from West Ham over the Carlos Tevez affair. (The Independent)