Football Gossip: Pato, Vidic, Cavani, Ramirez, Xhaka, Berahino‎

‎Gossip: Pato, Vidic, Cavani, Ramirez, Xhaka, Berahino‎ Chelsea have agreed an £8m deal for Corinthians' 26-year-old Brazil striker Alexandre Pato. (Daily Express) Pato is willing to take a pay cut to join Chelsea, and has agreed a three-year deal in principle. (Daily Mail) The arrival of Pato could see striker Radamel Falcao, 29, end his loan spell at Chelsea and return to parent club Monaco.(Guardian) South American football expert Tim Vickery says big clubs are "playing poker" with Brazilian Pato.(BBC Radio 5 live) The Daily Mirror lead their sport pages on Liverpool and Tottenham winning their FA Cup third-round replays Aston Villa are in talks with former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic, 34, about a return to the Premier League. (Sun) Manchester United are considering making a bid for Paris St-Germain's Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, 28. (ESPN) Arsenal are willing to spend £37m on Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 23, who could leave Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer. (Daily Star) Xhaka joked with reporters he has already asked the Gunners' French midfielder Francis Coquelin, 24, for the number 34 jersey. (London Evening Standard) Chelsea midfielder Pedro, 28, wants to leave the club only five months after joining from Barcelona in a £21m transfer. (Daily Star) Saido Berahino is being kept waiting over whether he will be allowed to leave West Brom this month. The 22-year-old striker would like to join Tottenham, but the Baggies are keen to sell him to Newcastle for £15m. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea failed to include a sell-on clause when former Blues striker Romelu Lukaku moved to Everton in 2014. The 22-year-old, whom the Toffees value at £60m, has been linked with Manchester United, Juventus and Real Madrid. (Times) Fellow West Brom striker Salomon Rondon, 26, says he is feeling the pressure of having cost £12m. (Birmingham Mail) Tottenham are ready to pay Sandro Ramirez's £9m release clause to sign the 20-year-old Spanish striker from Barcelona this month. (Daily Express) France defender Eliaquim Mangala, 24, may have cost Manchester City £42m rather than the £32m they originally claimed, according to a leaked transfer document. (Manchester Evening News) The Daily Telegraph depicts Sheyi Ojo celebrating his goal for Liverpool in the FA Cup Standard Liege are set to offer Spanish keeper Victor Valdes, 34, a way out of Old Trafford with a loan move until the end of the season.(Daily Mail) Premier League clubs will receive their share of the record-breaking £5.14bn broadcast deal a month early to boost spending in the summer transfer window.(Times) Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is offering Italian forward Fabio Borini, 24, back to Swansea City in a bid to sign Ghana international Andre Ayew, 26.(Sun) But the Black Cats have given up their hopes of signing Lorient and Ivory Coast defender Lamine Kone, 26.(Sunderland Echo) Real Madrid are closing in on £10m deal for 18-year-old Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur from Boca Juniors.(Daily Mirror) Stoke City have had a £7m bid for 23-year-old Burnley defender Michael Keane rejected.(Metro) However, the Championship club insist they have not received any bids for the highly rated former Manchester United player.(Lancashire Evening Telegraph) West Ham will not consider letting 23-year-old midfielder Pedro Obiang leave in the January transfer window.(London Evening Standard) Daniel Sturridge's poor injury record at Liverpool means the 26-year-old England striker's cost to the club is now a staggering £542,000 per goal.(Independent) West Ham are confident of completing a loan deal for 28-year-old Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike from Fenerbahce.(Daily Telegraph) Manager Alan Pardew says Crystal Palace are unlikely to make a big-money "statement signing" this January. (Croydon Advertiser) Newcastle are determined not to sell France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 26, and Spanish forward Ayoze Perez, 22, during this January's transfer window, but will listen to offers for forward Yoan Gouffran, 29, and midfield Sylvain Marveaux, 29.(Newcastle Chronicle) A female footballer in Spain who said a referee tried to ask her out during a game will not file a formal complaint because it is her word against his. Romanian defender Elena Pavel accused referee Santiago Quijada Alcon of trying to provoke her by asking her on a date in Sporting Huelva's first-division game against Santa Teresa on Sunday.(Marca) Swansea have made contact with Liverpool about Joe Allen, to see if they can tempt the 25-year-old Wales midfielder back to the Liberty Stadium.(Wales online) Best of BBC Radio 5 live BBC pundit Pat Nevin believes Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will sell striker Christian Benteke, 25, for "a big dollop" of money to make funds available for new players. Film stars Kevin Hart and Ice Cube paid a visit to Manchester City during their promotional tour for Ride Along 2, and said they went to Etihad Stadium because they weren't invited by Manchester United. BBC Radio 5 live's Mark Pougatch, Tim Vickery and Pat Nevin discuss the future of former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli - with Nevin hinting that he could be appointed as the new Chelsea manager. Best of social media Brazil legend Cafu tweeted about the return of Jon Flanagan to Liverpool's first-team following a long injury lay-off. The pair met years ago and Cafu said: "I have a thousand tweets! I guess it's the return of a friend to the field!!! @LFC." Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick tweeted about missing a train on Wednesday, and instantly regretted it after being bombarded with responses about his lack of pace. Full-back Sam Byram tweeted a thank you message to Leeds fans as he left the club to join West Ham on a four-and-a-half year deal. The 22-year-old said it was an "honour and a privilege" to play for the club - and posted a picture of himself as a 10-year-old academy player. Jermaine Pennant was delighted to find out restaurant chain Nandos delivered in Singapore, where the former Stoke and Liverpool midfielder is now playing. The 33-year-old tweeted: "No way..... Nandos do delivery here!!!!! Amazing news haha." And finally... Did Liverpool receive some divine intervention in their win over Exeter in their FA Cup third-round replay? Joe Allen scored the opener in their 3-0 win, but his name came up as Jesus on some live score sites. (Metro) Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo distracted team-mate Sergio Ramos during a conversation with the club's president by flicking his ear, as they posed for a team photo with new manager Zinedine Zidane. (Daily Mail) A policeman is facing six months in jail after allegedly recording a video of himself with Barcelona striker Lionel Messi's passport, which was then posted on social media. (Independent) Sportswear manufacturer Adidas sent Petr Cech's goalkeeping gloves to his former club Chelsea, despite him leaving the Blues last summer to join London rivals Arsenal. (Daily Telegraph)‎