Tuesday's gossip column - transfers and rumours
Last updated on .From the section Football
For updated transfer news and gossip throughout the day, read our breaking news service Sportsday Live.
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna, 29, is a target for Inter Milan if contract talks with the Gunners do not go well between now and next summer.
Winger Eden Hazard, 21, has revealed that Tottenham's failure to finish in the Champions League qualifying positions "tipped the balance" in favour of a move to Chelsea.
Full story: France Football (in French)
Manchester City centre-back Joleon Lescott, 30, is open to signing a new long-term contract with the club.
OTHER GOSSIP
Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand, 33, would be open to a return to the England team following John Terry's decision to retire from international football.
Terry, 31, has been dropped by kit supplier Umbro following the allegations of racial abuse that culminated in a Football Association disciplinary hearing at Wembley which began on Monday.
The Chelsea captain is 5-1 with bookmakers to perform a U-turn and play for his country again, while he can be backed at 16-1 to be in England's 2014 World Cup travelling party.
Manager Roy Hodgson, 65, has not spoken to Ferdinand since he was left out of England's Euro 2012 squad for "football reasons", however, and remains reluctant to call him up.
Ferdinand's Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney, 26, has an outside chance of making the substitutes' bench for the League Cup match against Newcastle on Wednesday after the striker's recovery from a badly gashed leg.
Newcastle centre-back Fabricio Coloccini, 30, and midfielder Cheick Tiote, 26, could start in the game after returning to full fitness.
The Football Association has put forward Wembley to Uefa as the venue for the Euro 2020 final as the governing body's president Michel Platini, 57, is considering a plan to play the tournament in several countries.
Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland, 26, will have an X-ray to determine whether he has broken his arm.
Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes, 22, admits the uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Steve Kean is unsettling for the players.
Manager Paul Jewell, 47, is to be given more time to improve Ipswich's poor form after the club fell to second bottom in the Championship table.
Blackburn have identified Match of the Day pundit and former striker Alan Shearer, 42, as their leading candidate to replace 44-year-old manager Steve Kean, if the Scot is sacked.
Full story: the Times (subscription required)
AND FINALLY
Three-time former World Player of the Year Ronaldo, 36, is in the running for a new prize - winner of Brazilian television's Celebrity Fit Club.
Wolves manager Stale Solbakken admits he is an expert on Tuesday's Capital One Cup opponents Chelsea - because his dad Svein is a lifelong Blues fan.
MK Dons assistant boss Mick Harford says his side's meeting with Sunderland in the League Cup on Tuesday is a "dream draw" as they are his hometown club and the team he supported as a child.
