It has been revealed that La Liga champions Real Madrid bid £25m for Arsenal’s hugely talented midfielder Cesc Fabregas last summer (DiarioSport). Thankfully for the Gunners, Arsene Wenger had no desire to sell and it seems Fabregas saw no reason to leave north London.

The same source also claims that a move to Real would have made the 20-year-old midfield genius an outcast in his own family who are all mad Barcelona supporters. I am sure  many fans will be a little worried at the prospect of losing the young Spaniard but it appears Fabregas loves it at Arsenal and shows no sign of leaving any time soon.

Juande Ramos has earmarked two relative unknowns to help resolve the defensive frailties at White Hart Lane. First up is for Cardiff City's Welsh international defender Chris Gunter, who may join in the transfer window (The Independent). The 18-year-old’s rise has been pretty meteoric and after playing his part in Wales’s last two matches – most notably in their impressive 0-0 draw in Germany – it appears that many Premier League scouts have shown an interest.

‘... a move to Real Madrid would have made the 20-year-old midfield genius an outcast in his own family who are all mad Barcelona supporters.’


Tottenham are also being linked with Stuttgart defender Fernando Meira (The Independent). The Portuguese international has been plying his trade in the Bundesliga for the past five years and helped Stuttgart to their first title success in more than 15 years last season. The 29-year-old has bags of experience at the highest level and could be keen to give the Premier League a shot especially as Stuttgart are struggling this season and are already 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich and are out of the Champions League.

Neither of these signings would break the bank and may be intelligent moves that could help Tottenham out of the relegation battle, even if they only act as cover.

Liverpool have been heavily linked with Espanyol pair Dani Jarque and Albert Riera (various). The Spanish club's president, Daniel Sanchez Llibre, has been straightforward about the reported interest, stating, "If somebody wants them, they can pay their buyout clause."

Those clauses would come to around £23m, which seems a bridge too far for a Liverpool side who it seems have been more or less banned from making any purchases by the board, at least until they sell some players off first. Clearly securing the permanent contract of Javier Mascherano will come before anything else, so I think these Spaniards are not on the immediate radar.

After his latest high-profile strop, £10m rated Benni McCarthy is again looking likely to leave Ewood Park (Daily Express). The Blackburn Rovers star stormed off in a huff after being subbed against Newcastle and drove away from the ground before the game was even completed.

This latest display of petulance could spell the end of a good run at Rovers which has seen the South African score 27 goals in 63 matches. An added bonus is that McCarthy seems to have avoided being called up for the African Nations Cup next month. Celtic and Rangers have joined the battle and West Ham and Chelsea are also monitoring the 30 year old.