The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Alvaro Negredo to Tottenham
Four days ago, Spanish paper AS claimed Spurs would wrap up a £23m deal for the Real Madrid striker within 48 hours. Evidently, that didn’t happen, but the Spaniards insist Spurs are still the frontrunners for his signature and the Premier League is his ideal destination.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Little has been said of this deal in the British press, but that doesn’t mean to say it isn’t true. That said, most Tottenham transfer rumours are untrue.

Joleon Lescott to Manchester City
The rumour that refuses to go away rages on. The Times believe the defender will “plead” with David Moyes to be allowed to talk with Manchester City, who had a £15m offer rejected on Friday. They will reportedly retort with an improved £18m bid.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: The Times say Lescott wants to join City to improve his chances

German actress, TV presenter and underwear enthusiast

German actress Lilli Hollunder is best known in her home nation for her starring role in slightly tosh daily soap Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love). The 22-year-old has recently branched out into the world of TV presenting, and is now the face of FC-TV, the official channel of FC Köln.

In a recent interview with Bild, Lilli fawned over returning Cologne hero Lukas Podolski and revealed she has a “sexy friend” named Matthias, who plays for lowly FC Junkersdorf. 

Fans buy advertising space on Poldi’s face

Polish-born Germany striker Lukas Podolski is thoroughly unsettled at current club Bayern Munich, and has now secured a move back to his first Bundesliga club FC Köln, to begin in July.

Poldi is one of the most popular players in Deustchland, and the transfer fee is expected to be in the region of €10m. In order to bring their star player home, Cologne have enlisted the help of their fans, particularly those who own businesses.

At the club’s Poldi-Pixel site, fans may purchase an 8×8 pixel square for €25, which they can use to advertise a company and display wishes of goodwill towards the striker.

To cover the entire fee, FC Köln will have to sell 400,000 pixels.