Liverpool battle Man City for Dzeko with Woy, Reina & Cole set to leave, cash-strapped Chelsea & Man United read Hazard signs

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: Im sure well have a few offers but hopefully the owners head will not be turned by them because at the end of the day if we want to get the club to where it should be over the next five years you need to build it around someone like him. The worrying thing for us is if a Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal or Chelsea come looking for him. Then youve got a problem. But the position hes in at the moment, if he wants to be an England regular, he needs to be playing week in, week out. Unless whoever comes in for him can guarantee him that, he should stay with us I heard about what Balotelli said the other day. I find it quite strange but then that is him hes got to be like that, I suppose. Andy is a lot more humble than him, hes a lad you can approach a bit more. Balotelli is a top, top player you cant take that away from him but I think his personal skills off the field need to be changed a bit. The main thing for us is Andy has got everything. Off the field hes got a lot going for him. In my eyes hes Englands next number nine for years to come. Kevin Nolan.

Runner-up: It is really tight, if you win two or three games and you dont lose matches then you can get to the top four We are starting to play good football, we are improving, the team will get better and we can still have the opportunity to get into the top four, definitely, we are looking for it. Carlos Cuellar.

Todays overview: Christmas over, the papers chug back into life this Boxing Day and its all about rumours as the January transfer window inches ever closer.

Edin Dzeko, who clearly has a multitude of agents talking to a raft of clubs in Europe, is today said to be meat in the sandwich with Man City and Liverpool both battling! for a b ite. Liverpool, though, have other issues on their plate as the NOTW report that the Scousers have lined up Hodgsons replacement. Staying with managers on the move, the People claim Big Sam has a job offer on the table while a second offer for the newly unemployed gaffer is mooted to be just around the corner too.

Returning to Merseyside, Manchester United are linked with an Anfield star while a second high-profile Red could be forced out the club having failed to settle at the club.

Heading down to London, Chelsea face headlines that their in a cash crisis, although a gaggle of hacks then go on to link the Blues with some mega-signings this winter.

In more opinion-based articles John Ley has some great Rooney stats, Newcastle are mocked for their instability, and Robin van Persie is called out as under-performing.

Everyone Wants Edin: Manchester City now face some serious competition to sign Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg as Liverpool have entered the fray.

According to Duncan White, [Wolfsburg] are open to Liverpools suggestion of taking players in part-exchange, with Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger the German clubs preferred options. City have confirmed they have been in dialogue with Wolfsburg and it is understood they wanted to put Emmanuel Adebayor into a deal in part-exchange. Adebayor, however, does not want to move to the Bundesliga Hulk, who plays for Porto, is a player [City] are looking at should a deal for Dzeko fall through.

Staying on Merseyside, Graham Chase surveys a difficult opening few months for Roy Hodgson at Anfield. Starting life under Tom Hicks and George Gillett with a run of one win and four defeats in his first eight Premier League matches, he has endured a fight to keep Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina, the loss of Javier Mascherano, having Kenny Dalglishs name sung at h! im, a re ported dispute with Glen Johnson, the NESV takeover and now the arrival of director of football Damien Comolli. Recent improvements have been undermined by continued appalling form away from home, with six defeats from Liverpools nine away matches.

Qatar Hero: Sam Allardyce has already courted new suitors according to Steve Bates. Allardyce is wanted by mega-rich Qatar to shape a team good enough to grace the 2022 World Cup. The oil-rich Arab state shocked football when winning the right to stage the World Cup now they want Big Sam to groom their young stars. Allardyce, sacked by Blackburn earlier this month, has figured prominently in secret discussions held recently by the Qatari FA The Qatar FA may have to move fast as Allardyce is a front-runner to replace Avram Grant at West Ham.

Fergie Looks Scouse: The big splash in the Mail on Sunday is that Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to be given at least 50million to spend in the transfer market and is targeting Liverpools Pepe Reina as a replacement for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The Manchester United manager is prepared to hold fire until the summer, when the Glazer family will let him dip into the transfer fund they have accumulated Reina is known to be unsettled at Liverpool, who are well off the pace for a Champions League spot, and Van der Sar, at 40, is coming to the end of his top-flight career.

Scousers Look To Shift: Joe Bernstein casts his eye over Anfield to look at the players who could leave the club this winter. 29-year-old England international [Joe Cole] has struggled at Anfield and is wanted on loan for the rest of the season by his former club West Ham. Hamburg and Genoa are interested in Jovanovic, while Babel turned down moves last summer to Birmingham, Tottenham and West Ham because they could not match his 70,000-a-week wage. Coles friend, Glen Johnson, would also like to leave after fal! ling out with Hodgson but he is struggling to find another club prepared to offer the 120,000 a week he is paid.

Cash-Strapped Chelsea: Incredibly labelling Chelsea in crisis a situation which they obviously are not in hack Rob Draper booms that Chelseas funds have dried up. Carlo Ancelotti, without a win in five Premier League matches, will not be allowed to bolster Chelseas faltering title hopes by adding to his squad in the January transfer window. Chelsea will announce in the new year that the club lost 40million last season despite winning the League and FA Cup Double. Only if owner Roman Abramovich has a major change of heart and subsidises a new signing will Ancelotti be able to bring in new blood next month. And the Italian has been told that such an about-turn is not on the agenda.

No sooner has one paper claimed that Chelsea will not sign this January, than the Mirror on Sunday sensationally linked the Blues with Goldenballs. Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti are weighing up a sensational swoop for David Beckham. The 35-year-old former England captain has had a change of heart about returning to Europe on loan in January He will not be guaranteed first-team football at the Bernabeu but up to eight Premier League clubs are more than willing to give him a starting place. Among those is Chelsea boss Ancelotti, who brokered the deal for Beckham to join Milan on loan in December 2008.

Continuing to show how the fifth estate dont have the foggiest idea of the financial goings-on at Stamford Bridge, Soriebah Kajue then charges in with news that Chelsea are set to enter the race for Southampton starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a sensational 10 million bid Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is keen to introduce a younger English core at the heart of his team to replace the ageing and influential pre! sences o f skipper John Terry and Frank Lampard.

Manchester United vs Sunderland: John Ley unveils a pearler of a stat aimed at rejuventating Wayne Rooney. While the England striker is struggling to find the form of last season, the fact is that whenever he scores in the Premier League at Old Trafford, Manchester United win. No arguments. No deviations. In more than six seasons, Rooney has scored in 39 league games at Old Trafford and United have won every one It is the record of Rooney that stands out, not only at Old Trafford, but away from home. A betting man would do well to try a double: Rooney to score and United to win. For, in a total of 70 games in which he has scored for United. home and away, United have won a remarkable 66, drawing two and losing the other two. And those two reverses were at Arsenal, in the 2006-07 season, and at Chelsea a year later.

On the Wearsiders, Tim Rich makes the case that this is the best side Sunderland have had for generations. Big signings such as Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan and young footballers such as Jordan Henderson and Nedum Onuoha have forged what is perhaps Sunderlands best side since the heavy spending of the Bank of England Club disintegrated into relegation in 1958 an event Ferguson usually mentions when the subject crops up of where Manchester City might be headed.

Man City vs Magpies: A mocking Tim Rich makes the case that Newcastle are even less stable than the Citizens. Perhaps appropriately, Mancini meets the turn of the season at Newcastle, a club that could once match Manchester City when it came to pouring away money in the futile pursuit of silverware and has eclipsed them in terms of bizarre treatment of their employees. Despite the endless amateur psychology surrounding Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevezs botched attempt to leave the club, Manchester City is by comparison a haven of stability.

Arsenal vs Chelsea: In his preview of Monday nights ! big Lond on derby, Alan Smith calls out Arsenal forward RVP. Robin van Persie hasnt looked very sharp since returning from a long injury lay-off. The Dutchman has been back on the scene for a while now without threatening to get anywhere near his usual standards. As a result, Wenger has stuck with Marouane Chamakh in the league, only introducing Van Persie for limited times off the bench. It does make you wonder what will happen for a game in which Arsenal need all their big guns firing heavy artillery.

The News of the World: Stuck behind their pay-wall, the News of the World titillate readers with a host of sensational headlines. Included is news that Liverpool are lining up Didier Deschamps to replace Hogdson, Man United may make a 13m move for Ashley Young and Carlos Tevez has secretly been told he can leave Eastlands this summer if City reach the Champions League.

The Transfers: The Telegraph link both West Ham and Everton to taking Spurs sick-note Jonathan Woodgate on loan this winter, while Leo Spall claims Wolves are also interested in the centre-half.

Turning to the Mail on Sunday we learn that Aston Villa want Shay Given and 5m French defender Adil Rami from Lille, Michael Owen will not be leaving Old Trafford on loan and Fulham want John Carew.

The Express on Sunday say Newcastle want Shaun Wright-Phillips on loan, while a never-gonna-happen article in the Mirror claims Connor Wickham may move to Arsenal while Carlos Vela is a 7.5m target for Espanyol.

In an article with paper-thin creditability in the Star, Manchester United are linked with Lilles Eden Hazard with Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid all said to be after the playmaker too. Staying in the rag were told Stoke are preparing a 5m bid for Stephen Ireland.

The Hazard-Manchester United rumour is also reported in the People, where its added ! that Ars enal, Liverpool, Barcelona and Inter Milan are also on Hazards trail but Uniteds interest is strong with Fergusons European scouts virtually ever-present at Lille games this season. The People also link Roque Santa Cruz with Lazio, Emmanuel Adebayor is only linked to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and both Milan clubs, Barcelona 19-year-old midfielder Oriol Romeu is wanted by Blackburn, Emile Heskey is wanted by Leicester, while Tottenham are set to make 2.5million January offer for Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar.

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