The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Pavel Pogrebnyak to Arsenal
Approximately 100 per cent of Arsenal fans are completely fed up with Emmanuel Adebayor, who is said to be departing this summer, possibly to his beloved AC Milan. The Mirror say Professor Wenger is looking for a replacement, and will bag Zenit St. Petersburg’s unpronounceable Blackburn-hating striker Pavel Pogrebnyak if Roque Santa Cruz is lured elsewhere.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: The Gunners already have a relationship with Zenit, so we may get to enjoy another transfer saga and drawn-out and painful as the Arshavin one during the summer.

Djibril Cisse to Tottenham
The Daily Mail are claiming that the fashion conscious forward has told Sunderland team-mates he will call White Hart Lane home next season.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Apparently, Marseille have already

Pavel Pogrebnyak be trash talkin’ Lancashire club

Since he was a little boy, Andriy Arshavin always dreamed of playing for Barcelona a top four English club, and today one of his former Zenit St Petersburg colleagues has also announced interest of a move to our tiny island.

Pavel Pogrebnyak was linked to Bayern Munich last summer, and a transfer to Blackburn very nearly took place during the January window. Apparently, the only thing that stopped the striker joining the Lancashire club was his sneery attitude:

‘I was puzzled when Zenit general director Maksim Mitrofanov said he was going to talk me into accepting Blackburn’s offer in the winter transfer window.

‘I could only laugh at it. Yes, I dream of playing in England - but I’m not interested in Blackburn who are struggling against relegation.’

Unfortunately, Pogrebnyak’s dream of playing for a big four side may not be realised in the near future: the only other English club to have shown any interest are Bolton.

[Daily Mail via Dirty Tackle]

23 days until the window is flung open

It’s not long until Manchester City’s bottomless coffer is unleashed, and the press are having a fantastic time linking everyone under the sun to them. Here’s the latest happenings in gossipland…

David Villa to Manchester City
The Sun has revealed Man City are in talks to sign Euro 2008 star David Villa after Mark Hughes insisted there would be big name signings in January.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Cash-strapped Valencia would surely accept £60 million and City wouldn’t think twice about breaking the world transfer record. And for around £150,000 a week you’d think the man himself might be quite interested too.

Thierry Henry to Manchester City
Manchester City are keen to bring Thierry Henry back to England after his turbulent time in Spain according to the Daily Mail. Barcelona might be interested if the right money is offered although a sale would most likely follow a guaranteed replacement with Lyon striker Karim Benzema consistently linked with the Catalan giants.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: City and Barcelona might both be interested in a deal, but Thierry Henry remains determined to prove his time in Spain has been a success. Following a hat-trick at the weekend he looks keen to win over his detractors in Spain.

Milan to extend loan for Beckham?
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has revealed he hopes to keep David Beckham for as long as possible. LA Galaxy have already agreed to loan out Beckham in January for the close season of the MLS. Despite competition for places in Milan’s midfield - Kaka, Andrea Pirlo and Ronaldinho to name just a few, Beckham’s England career prospects would be enhanced by proving his quality in Serie A as opposed to in USA. Milan might struggle to match the Galaxy’s asking price or Beckham’s weekly half a million dollar wages but would enjoy significant commercial success if a permanent deal could be agreed with the Galaxy.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Posh might like life in Italy better than LA where she is far less popular than her hubby and might want to stay for Milan Fashion Week in September.

A Manager to Sunderland
Rumoured replacements for Roy Keane include Peter Reid