Gossip column: Mahrez, Conte, Sarri, Ronaldo, Kluivert, Icardi, Dzeko
Last updated on .From the section Gossip
Arsenal are expected to join the race to sign unsettled Leicester midfielder Riyad Mahrez, 26. (Daily Star Sunday)
Leicester manager Claude Puel says he is "not thinking" about Mahrez, who has not been seen by the club since his proposed move to Manchester City collapsed on transfer deadline day. (Mail on Sunday)
The Professional Footballers' Association has offered to help to resolve the situation between Algeria international Mahrez and Leicester City. (Sun on Sunday)
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is considering paying Maurizio Sarri's 8m euro (£7m) release clause to appoint the Napoli coach as his club's next manager. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte could be sacked if his side lose at Watford on Monday. (Sunday Express)
Conte has told Chelsea they need two or three truly world-class signings to regain the Premier League title next season, and cites the arrival of too many players as one reason behind their failure to mount a defence of their title this term. (Sunday Telegraph)
Manchester City's 30-year-old England keeper Joe Hart, who is on loan at West Ham, will be a target for Chelsea if Thibaut Courtois, 25, leaves the club in the summer. (Sun on Sunday)
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley, 24, may have suffered a hamstring injury which, if confirmed, would make the Englishman the eighth player at the club to suffer such a problem this season. (Sunday Telegraph)
Manchester United are in advanced talks to bring Ajax's 18-year-old Dutch winger Justin Kluivert - son of former Barcelona forward Patrick - to Old Trafford in the summer. (Sunday Mirror)
Tottenham's England striker Harry Kane, 24, is ready for a move to Real Madrid but his club and international team-mate Dele Alli, 21, is not, according to ex-Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness. (Sunday Times - subscription required)
Real Madrid are prepared to raise Cristiano Ronaldo's salary to 30m euros a year from this summer, putting the 32-year-old Portugal forward alongside Neymar in terms of annual earnings. (ABC, via Marca)
Napoli have joined the pursuit of Mauro Icardi, the 24-year-old Inter Milan and Argentina striker who has been linked with Manchester United and is wanted by Real Madrid. (AS)
Edin Dzeko says he snubbed Chelsea in order to stay at Roma because of his "unreal" life in Italy, though the 31-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina forward says the Blues' interest was a "compliment". (Klix, via Mail on Sunday)
Everton have given former caretaker boss David Unsworth, their Under-23 coach, permission to speak to Oxford United about their managerial vacancy. (Sky Sports)
Toffees boss Sam Allardyce says he has relegated new signing Cenk Tosun to the bench because the 26-year-old Turkey forward is struggling to adapt to the Premier League. (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has again criticised the atmosphere at Old Trafford, and claims the noise made at Portsmouth's Fratton Park is better. (London Evening Standard)
Mourinho has set his sights on signing Bayern Munich's Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, 30, in the summer amid concerns about his lack of options in the centre. (Manchester Evening News)
West Brom boss Alan Pardew wants Baggies officials to persuade Jonny Evans to agree a new deal to keep the 30-year-old Northern Ireland defender from the clutches of other Premier League sides. (Birmingham Mail)
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists striker Sadio Mane is not jealous of fellow forward Mohamed Salah and that the Senegalese and the Egyptian "are best friends". (Sunday Mirror)
Klopp says he does not feel under pressure from Liverpool's owners as they don't say, "next year, you be champions or you can go" but rather "it's outsiders who say, 'if he doesn't bring silverware in, he's under pressure'." (Mail on Sunday)
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann believes the club are still lacking defensive cover, despite the £75m January capture of Dutch centre-back Virgil van Dijk, 26. (Omnisport, via Liverpool Echo)
Crystal Palace's Mali international forward Bakary Sako, 29, ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured ankle and damaged ligaments, has sent a message of optimism on social media.
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil declared Rihanna his "lucky charm" after the singer watched the victory over Everton. Rihanna also celebrated Germany's 2014 World Cup win with Ozil and his team-mates in Brazil. (London Evening Standard)
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Best of Saturday's gossip
Former Everton and Southampton manager Ronald Koeman will be named the new coach of the Netherlands next Friday. The 54-year-old Dutchman has been out of work since he was sacked by Everton in October. (De Telegraaf - in Dutch)
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will only sell Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, 27, to Real Madrid if Wales forward Gareth Bale, 28, travels in the opposite direction. (Diario Gol, via Daily Express)
De Gea is one of four goalkeepers under consideration at Real Madrid. Chelsea's 25-year-old Belgian Thibaut Courtois, Atletico Madrid and Slovenia stopper Jan Oblak, 25, and AC Milan's 18-year-old Italy international Gianluigi Donnarumma are seen as potential alternatives to David de Gea. (Goal.com)
