LATEST NEWS

West Ham will start talks with Dean Ashton about a new contract on Friday. - whufc.com

Middlesbrough hope to beat Aston Villa and Everton to the signature of Chelsea's Steve Sidwell but may struggle to meet his £50,000-a-week wage demands. - thisislondon.co.uk

Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen's agent says the club want to speak to him about keeping the player, despite the breakdown of contract talks. - Manchester Evening News

Sven Goran Eriksson could be in line to become the next manager of the Mexico national team, replacing Hugo Sanchez. - football365.com

Japanese club JEF United Chiba are making ambitious moves to sign England striker Michael Owen, according to the Nikkan Sports Daily Newspaper - Agence France Presse

Cristiano Ronaldo tells Manchester United TV he is at the "right club" following reports that Real Madrid have still not given up hope of luring him to the Bernabeu. - Agence France Presse

QPR have agreed a two-year deal with Tottenham goalkeeper Radek Cerny and have also signed Newcastle's Peter Ramage on a three-year deal. - Press Association

Tottenham and Newcastle are to battle it out for Manchester City defender Richard Dunne. - thisislondon.co.uk

Gary Megson is getting ready to make big changes at Bolton, with up to 12 players, including Stelios and Heidar Helguson, heading for the exit door - thisislancashire.co.uk

Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United are both looking to sign Derby striker Rob Earnshaw. - Sportinglife.com

West Ham are close to clinching a season-long loan deal for Juventus youngster Davide Lanzafame, who scored 10 goals in Italy's second division this season and won U21 caps for Italy. SkySports.com

Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann, who is available on a free transfer, has been approached by Stuttgart but may retire from football altogether. - Press Association


TRANSFER RUMOURS

Michael Owen could leave Newcastle if they try to cut his wages as part of a new deal, with Everton among the possible contenders to sign him. - Daily Mail

Read more ...
Owen on the move?

West Ham will make another big to sign Reading defender Nicky Shorey but boss Alan Curbishley has been told he must sell before he buys. - Daily Express

Cardiff teenager Aaron Ramsey could be on his way to Manchester United as a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes. - Mirror

Hull are interested in signing veteran Italian striker Christian Vieri if they are promoted to the Premier League. - Mirror

Petr Cech's agent says an unnamed "very big European club" is willing to pay £32m for the Chelsea goalkeeper. - The Sun

Jackie McNamara has joined Falkirk on a two-year deal after he left Aberdeen. - Daily Record

Highly-rated Crystal Palace teenager John Bostock, who was wanted by Barcelona and Manchester United and is currently doing his GCSEs, is on the verge of joining Tottenham. - Daily Mail

Manchester United have earmarked Sevilla's Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano as their top summer target. - The Times


FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Manchester United are to request champions' medals for Gerard Pique and Tomasz Kuszczak, who each made nine appearances this season rather than the medal-earning mark of 10. - Daily Mail

Birmingham owner David Sullivan says their relegation is down to the "pile of rubbish" they bought last summer, picking out Franck Queudrue as the biggest let-down. - Various

Rochdale's Lee Thorpe will miss their play-off campaign after breaking his arm in three places arm-wrestling with a team-mate on the way to the first-leg match. - Daily Express

Arsene Wenger says Theo Walcott still "drifts in and out of games too much" to be ready to play centre forward for Arsenal yet. - Mirror

Cardiff's Robbie Fowler will definitely be in the squad for the FA Cup final despite not having played since December because a hip operation. - Mirror

Iain Dowie will be named as QPR's new manager before the end of the week, his fourth club in two years. - The Sun

Injury worries over Sol Campbell and David James mean Portsmouth may name their FA Cup final line-up just hours before kick-off. - Daily Star

England boss Fabio Capello has demanded 11 days to work with his players around the end-of-season internationals as he has had so little time with them so far. - The Independent

Richard Dunne's sending-off at Middlesbrough could cost Manchester City their Uefa Cup place via the Fair Play League, with Fulham in contention to replace them. - The Times

Fulham owner Mohammed Fayed says he remains as committed to the club as at any point in his 10 years in charge. - Daily Telegraph


AND THE UNUSUAL

Zenit St Petersburg boss Dick Advocaat's favourite singer is Michael Bolton. - Daily Record

Shrewsbury will get £500,000 from Manchester City if goalkeeper Joe Hart is capped by England in the game against the USA thanks to a transfer clause from 2006. - The Sun

Wembley Stadium could stage the 2011 Champions League final after changes to the British tax rules, which are thought to have cost the stadium the chance to host the 2010 final. - The Times

A spare set of engraved Premier League medals will have Chelsea's names erased and go back into storage after having been taken to Stamford Bridge on Sunday in case Chelsea won the title. - The Times

Sunderland's Kieran Richardson missed the 1-0 loss to Arsenal as he became the fifth player dropped by manager Roy Keane for poor time-keeping. - The Times