TRANSFER SEASON IS BEST SEASON (Transfer rumors are in the below text cloud)
-Bayern Munich are set to rival Paris St-Germain and Napoli in the race to sign Chelsea attacking midfielder Juan Mata, 25.
-Arsenal are planning to offer £30m for Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye, 27, and 23-year-old full-back Davide Santon.
-Wolfsburg director of sport Klaus Allofs is confident that a deal has nearly been secured to sign Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 22.
-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is keen to sign 19-year-old St Etienne defender Kurt Zouma as a long-term replacement for John Terry.
-The Stamford Bridge club are also hopeful of pulling off a deal to re-sign Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matic, 25, that could cost them 10 times the £3m he was valued at when used as a makeweight in the deal that brought defender David Luiz, 26, to Chelsea three years ago.
-Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes, 32, is in talks to return to his native Brazil.
-Manchester United have joined Arsenal and Chelsea in vying for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, with assistant coach Phil Neville flying out to Spain to monitor the 19-year-old's current loan spell with Rayo Vallecano.
-United's hunt for fresh talent has also led to manager David Moyes being spotted in Italy, where he ran his eye over Cagliari defender Davide Astori, 27, and Juventus midfield playmaker Arturo Vidal, 26.
-Alternatively, Moyes was there to woo Juve midfielder Paul Pogba, 20, back to Old Trafford, where he spent nearly three years as a teenager. (pls no, if you do you have to play him Moyes, or I will be mad)
-Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is poised to sign highly-rated Swedish striker John Guidetti, 21, on loan from Manchester City.
-Striker Papiss Cisse, 28, may be about to leave Newcastle, but only if the unnamed club in Qatar chasing his signature add another £1m to their initial offer of £9m.
-West Ham have agreed a deal to sign Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott, 31, on a £90,000-week loan deal, with an option for a three-year permanent move in the summer if the Upton Park club stay in the Premier League.
-But Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has rejected the possibility that Lescott will join the Hammers on loan.
-French defender Patrice Evra, 32, is set to leave Manchester United when his contract ends in June.
-Norwich are close to signing Newcastle midfielder Jonas Gutierrez with the 30-year-old Argentine International already tweeting his goodbyes to the Toon Army.
-Hull boss Steve oscar believes that the club's readiness to spend £6,5m on Everton striker Nikica Jelavic, 28, and a fresh approach to sign forward Shane Long, 26, from West Brom for the same amount underlines the long-term ambition of owner Assem Allam.
-Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, 25, could make a surprise return for Wednesday's FA Cup replay with Blackburn Rovers after four weeks out with a knee injury.
-Sunderland boss Gus Poyet hopes his side's climb off the bottom of the Premier League table will help his recruitment plans.
-Manchester United's value has plummeted by £250m to £1.5bn in just one month because of their worst start to a season in 24 years. (what)
-Liverpool owner John Henry has called striker Luis Suarez, 26, "the most exciting soccer player" in the world while comparing the Uruguayan to Boston baseball hero David Ortiz.
And finally...
-Crystal Palace boss Tony Pulis's transfer plans have been thrown into turmoil by his boss Steve Parish going on holiday to the Caribbean for 10 days.
-Theo Walcott, 24, was shown no sympathy by Arsenal team-mate Kieran Gibbs, 24, who visited the England winger in hospital where he is recovering after a knee operation - and thrashed him on Fifa 14.
