Argentine striker Rodriguez heading for Anfield

Chelsea poised to sign £22m Sampdoria star 

New Birmingham signing Michel set for debut against Man United

Arsenal star Jack Wilshere desperate for Premier League loan move

Leeds put £2million price tag on Cup hero Beckford 

West Ham & Bolton chase veteran striker Gomes

Stoke demand £20million for defensive ace Shawcross

Martinez wants to make McDonald Wigan's top Bhoy

Middlesbrough keen on Vennegoor of Hesselink deal

Church is happy as a loyal Royal

Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce lines up treble transfer swoop on France

Roy Keane hints at permanent Rosenior signing

Portsmouth have just 48 hours to rescue transfer deal for Portuguese star

Watford and Charlton in transfer tussle for MK Dons star

Mark Hughes to land top international manager job

Former Owls boss wants a Sheffield Wednesday return

From today's other papers:
Tottenham are ready to battle Liverpool to sign Maxi Rodriguez on loan and will sweeten the deal by offering David Bentley to Atletico Madrid as part of the deal. (Daily Mail)

Real Madrid will try to take advantage of the rift between Nemanja Vidicand Sir Alex Ferguson by swooping for the defender, who withdrew from the team to face Leeds at the last minute with a mystery injury. (The Times)

Why Vidic's days at Old Trafford are numbered - David McDonnell on the Manchester United defender 

Manchester City are in talks with Inter Milan to bring former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira back to the Premier League. (The Times)

Birmingham Cityare ready to start splashing new owner Carson Yeung's cash, and Alex McLeish has already made an £8m bid for Liverpool's Dutch forward Ryan Babel . (Independent)

Matthew Upson looks to be heading for the exit at West Ham after Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola enquired about Stoke defender Robert Huth . Liverpool are set to make an £8m bid for Upson. (The Sun)

Manchester United have been told they must wait to sign Brazilian striker Hulk , who has said he wants to stay in Portugal until after the World Cup. (The Sun)

Fulham hope to tie up a loan deal for 20-year-old Roma striker Stefano Okaka . (The Sun)

Wigan are ready to launch a £3m bid for Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt . Fryatt - the Foxes top scorer this season with 12 goals - played with Latics boss Roberto Martinez at Walsall. (The Sun)

Sheffield Wednesday may make a shock approach for Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock who used to manage hated cross-town rivals Sheffield United. (Daily Mail)

The Professional Footballers’ Association are on standby to hold emergency talks at Fratton Park today if Portsmouth ’s players do not receive their December wages. (Daily Star)

Manchester United may have to wait until the summer if they are going to sign Brazilian striker Hulk.

The Red Devils are reportedly lining up a £20million raid for the Porto forward, who boasts an impressive scoring record with the Portuguese champions and has made a number of eye-catching performances in the UEFA Champions League this season.

The 23-year-old is hoping to secure a place in the Brazil squad for this summer's World Cup in South Africa, and his agent Teodoro Fonseca is wary that a January move could disrupt his progress.

"Inclusion in Brazil's World Cup squad is the most important thing," he said in The Sun.

"If he gets in, it could act as the gateway to England for him and that is what we want."

Hulk, who spent three years playing in Japan before moving to Porto, made his debut for Brazil in November last year when he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over England.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is rumoured to be interested in a striker to relieve Wayne Rooney of the goalscoring burden at Old Trafford.

MANCHESTER CITY will never have a better opportunity to put one over on rivals United than tomorrow's Carling Cup semi-final.

Because Manchester United are more vulnerable now than they have been for years.

And it is down to City, Chelsea and Arsenal to exploit those weaknesses before Alex Ferguson sorts his side out.

Leeds' shock FA Cup win at Old Trafford has highlighted what we have all suspected for a long time... that United are not the team they have been in the last few years.

They have not recovered from the blow of losing Cristiano Ronaldo and have been decimated by defensive injuries all season.

Too many of Fergie's recent big-name signings have failed to deliver at the highest level while United stalwarts Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and even Ryan Giggs are all approaching the end of their careers.

There are times this season when Wayne Rooney is being asked to do it all on his own and you can see his growing frustration at the lack of help.

Youngsters like Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson and Johnny Evans are decent enough players.

But it has been difficult for them to live up to the standards set by the Golden Generation of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and the Neville brothers.

Nobody knows the depth of their problems more than Ferguson. And no one is better equipped to deal with it.

It's absolute rubbish for anyone to suggest that this is the beginning of the end for Fergie.

He will go on for as long as he wants, no matter how old he is. And he won't allow this situation to get out of hand.

I don't care who the owners are or what plans they might have to refinance the club. Ferguson IS Manchester United and he calls all the shots.

Can you honestly imagine a situation where anyone tells him that he cannot buy any player he wants? That is never going to happen.

United are a global enterprise. They can't afford to stay in this slump for too long because sponsors are so fickle they will simply change their allegiance to another successful side.

That's why I believe United have to buy their way out of trouble. And Ferguson has got to get it right this time.

When Ruud Van Nistelrooy left United, they didn't miss him because of the emergence of Ronaldo.

But no one has been able to take over from Ronaldo and that is why they are suffering this season.

Nani has had plenty of opportunities to establish himself and never taken them.

He's been a serious disappointment and I can't believe he will be at Old Trafford for much longer.

Jose Antonio Valencia is a good Premier League right winger with plenty of pace. But you can't even compare him to Ronaldo.

Dimitar Berbatov has not delivered either and I'm still not sure what Ferguson expects from his £30million striker.

Are United happy with a languid player who chips in with the occasional goal? Or do they want someone who can lift some of the scoring burden off Rooney?

Michael Owen has also made much less of an impact than I expected and my fear as an England fan is that Rooney will run himself into the ground before the World Cup.

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Rooney has been magnificent and busts a gut in every match but can't do it all on his own.

No one else at United is even close to double figures in terms of goals scored this season.

Contrast that to last year, when Ronaldo scored 25, Carlos Tevez chipped in with 15 and United won the League and reached the Champions League final.

It looks to me that some players have signed for United and only then realised this is as big as it gets.

All of a sudden they have to meet the manager's demands for a top, top performance every week. And they simply have not been able to deliver.

Some of United's problems will be sorted soon when Rio Ferdinand and Edwin Van der Sar return from injury to shore things up at the back.

But that won't paper over all the cracks, particularly those exposed in midfield during last season's Champions League final defeat by Barcelona.

Every club goes through a period of transition when winning major trophies can no longer be taken for granted.

But United expect to win something every season and the Carling Cup might be their best chance this year.

I will be fascinated to see what line-up Fergie selects against City for tomorrow's semi-final first leg. There is no way he will want to lose to 'the noisy neighbours', especially after their FA Cup defeat by Leeds, courtesy of Jermaine Beckford's goal.

But he certainly isn't ready to chuck in the towel in the title race or the Champions League.

Only an idiot would write off United. But right now they are like a scab that just won't heal.

And City, Chelsea and Arsenal are picking away at those wounds.

Eliminarea din Cupa Angliei dupa infrangerea cu 1-0 acasa, pe Old Trafford de catre Leeds l-a scos din minti pe antrenorul campioanei din Anglia care a anuntat ca e pregatit sa taie in carne vie pentru meciul de miercuri.

Dimitar Berbatov, Gary Neville, Anderson, Gabriel Obertan, Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson si Fabio vor fi exclusi pentru meciul cu Manchester City din semifinala Cupei Ligii Angliei, de miercuri.

"Vom gandi diferit echipa pentru meciul cu Manchester City. Au fost jucatori care nu si-au facut datoria in anumite pozitii in meciul cu Leeds. Unii jucatori nu au avut randamentul pe care l-am asteptat" a declarat secundul lui Ferguson, Mike Phelan, citat de publicatia The Sun