Saturday's gossip column

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TRANSFER GOSSIP

Luiz Felipe Scolari wants "more quality" signings to boost his Chelsea squad in January, and admits he was disappointed to miss out on Robinho over the summer. (Various)

Mark Hughes will fly to Abu Dhabi later this month to discuss January transfer targets with Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour. (Various)

Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead will demand a transfer from the club after an ongoing row with boss Roy Keane, dating back to a Carling Cup clash with Northampton in September, during which the former Manchester United star smashed a tactics board. (Daily Mirror)

Meanwhile, Keane is planning a raid on Everton to take Joleon Lescott to the Stadium of Light for £8m. (Sun)

Aston Villa will try to lure young striker Daniel Sturridge from Manchester City once the transfer window opens. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham want to sign Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who is unhappy at Molineux with Carl Ikeme keeping him out of the side. (Daily Mirror)



OTHER GOSSIP

Newcastle interim boss Joe Kinnear has revealed that owner Mike Ashley may decide to stay on at St James' Park, despite months spent trying to sell the club. Kinnear says fans should expect to hear from Ashley after the Chelsea game on 22 November. (Various)

Sir Alex Ferguson has told his four top strikers - Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov - that they must get used to his rotation policy, whether they like it or not. (Daily Express)

Ferguson has a novel plan for a winter break in the Premier League. He wants to keep the Christmas fixture calendar intact, but then play just one round of league matches - 10 games - spread throughout the entire month of January. (Guardian)

Stoke defender Abdoulaye Faye has promised Arsenal a "physical" game when the two meet in Saturday's game at the Britannia Stadium, and branded the Gunners one of the top flight's "softest" teams. (Various)

Flavio Briatore wants to make Gareth Ainsworth the manager of Queens Park Rangers on a full-time basis, having been impressed with the start the caretaker boss has made. (Times)

Roy Keane says he must be braver on the touchline in future, and has vowed to make changes just minutes into matches if his team underperforms. (Various)

Newly-installed Spurs manager Harry Redknapp will keep faith with blundering goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, despite his errors against Arsenal in midweek. (Independent)

Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing believes booing from fans at England games caused a number of players to question their international futures - but insists things have now improved. (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth are involved in negotiations with a South African consortium who want to buy the club for £40m. (Daily Mail)

Sam Allardyce has not had a single job offer since Newcastle wielded the axe 10 months ago. (Daily Mail)


AND FINALLY

Fulham's Andy Johnson was so confident he would score his 100th goal against Wigan on Wednesday, he told the club kitman to prepare a special t-shirt for the game. Johnson duly scored and revealed a shirt emblazoned with "100 League", but took it off at half time because it was "uncomfortable". (Daily Express)

Brighton striker Joe Gatting, 20, has quit football with a view to following his famous uncle, Mike, into the game of cricket. (Daily Mirror)