Arsenal’s teenage sensation Nicklas Bendtner is unhappy with recent events at the Emirates and has therefore appeared on the Upton Park radar for a January purchase. West Ham will move for the Danish international striker when the transfer window opens (Daily Mirror).

Bendtner, 19, is upset about being left out recently and wants to have a chat with boss Arsene Wenger. He is quoted as saying: "I didn't get any explanation (about being left out of the squad for the match against Portsmouth), I don't know why he did that and I'll demand to know why and have a talk with Arsene Wenger when I get back. But what is said will stay between us."

The towering striker has every right to know why he was left out, and I am sure Wenger will assure him he has a future at the club and hopefully the Dane won’t get too disheartened. He is, after all, just one member of a hugely talented and large squad. He is still awaiting his first start as a Gunner - surely this will happen in a matter of weeks and not months.

'Given the recent improvement in the Liverpool squad and their great start to the season, I would find it astonishing if Reina left any time soon'


Maybe Arsene is planning to farm him out on loan again. I think not, though, and I expect things to be smoothed over and do not expect him to be joining Alan Curbishley’s men, even though I am sure they and many other sides would love to have such a powerhouse leading the line.

Liverpool No.1 Pepe Reina is said to be attracting the attention of La Liga side Atletico Madrid, who have apparently made contact with the Spaniard’s agent (AS). Atletico are hoping that family ties that connect Pepe may aid the potential transfer as the Anfield keeper's dad, Miguel, won La Liga and Copa del Rey playing in goal for Atletico.

This rumour can also be filled under the ‘highly-unlikely’ section. The former Villarreal stopper is Rafa’s No.1 and seems indispensable to the Anfield cause. And given the recent improvement in the squad and their great start to the season, I would find it astonishing if he left any time soon. The Merseyside outfit have a gem in the Spanish international, especially when you remember that he is still only 25, which in keeping terms makes him a baby.

Birmingham look set to make a £1m bid for Manchester City striker Darius Vassell in January (The Sun). Now I have been a one of many who has made fun of the former Aston Villa striker’s woeful scoring rate and indifferent form, but maybe this move wouldn’t be such a bad idea. £1m is not that much when you consider the transfer market these days and he could be just the kind of player to add something to Steve Bruce’s front-line.

Sven clearly doesn’t see Vassell as part of his plans, which is odd given the fact that he capped the 27-year-old many times and funnily enough his form in an England shirt was far better than at any point in his recent club career. However, I would have thought Bruce would be more interested in bringing in defenders to his leaky side.

Talking of defenders, Arsenal right-back Justin Hoyte is a January target for Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill (various). Apparently Villa are pretty much desperate for a right-sided defender and I think this could be a good signing.

Young Hoyte has been on the fringes at the Emirates for a few years now and is almost a veteran in Arsenal terms, even though he is only 22. It seems he has found himself some way back in the queue behind all of Arsene’s prodigious youngsters. So maybe it’s time Justin flew the coop and stood on his two feet away from North London. It worked for David Bentley (don’t boo, I only mentioned his name), Matthew Upson and many others. There is life after Arsenal, although let’s be honest, that life will not be as successful.

Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has publicly thanked his family for supporting him over his England problems (various). It seems that, much like manager Martin Jol, the Spurs keeper has been attracting all the wrong sort of publicity. His performance against Israel on Saturday, or basically the poor performance of the Israeli strikers, has helped ease the pain for the former Leeds keeper.

Robinson said: "It's nice to be stood here with a clean sheet. The last few weeks have been difficult, but that's the nature of my job. You make one mistake as the England goalkeeper and everyone sees it.” I guess the Croatia one is not really his fault…

Anyway, Robinson continued: "But the people closest to me have been strong and helped me through it and you saw my reaction against Israel. Negative press is going to have an effect on the people you love. But I've got a very strong family so we'll go from strength to strength."

All’s well that ends well, as they say. Still if he drops a clanger at White Hart Lane on Saturday, don’t expect his family to be quite so helpful!

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