Friday's Gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini, 31, is poised to commit to Newcastle for the rest of the season after the Argentine defender was told it would cost him £7m to quit.
Mohamed Diame
Senegal international Mohamed Diame made over 100 appearances for Wigan before joining West Ham
Tottenham are considering meeting West Ham's £3.5m release clause for Mohamed Diame beating Arsenal, Everton and Fulham to the 25-year-old midfielder.
Queens Park Rangers' Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar, 33, is a shock target for Real Madrid after they lost Spanish international Iker Casillas for a month with a broken hand.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has identified France Under-19 defender Kurt Zouma   as a summer transfer target. The 18-year-old could cost £8m from St Etienne.
Norwich are considering an ambitious move for Netherlands international striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, 23, from Sporting Lisbon.
QPR are closing in on deals for Portuguese defender Rolando,   27, from FC Porto, and Yun Suk-Young,   22, from Chunnam Dragons.
Arsenal are interested in Barcelona winger Isaac Cuenca   with the Spanish club willing to loan him out this month. The 21-year-old has not played this season after suffering a knee injury.
Liverpool and Everton are considering bids of £2m for Chesterfield's 21-year-old winger Tendayi Darikwa.
Fulham have enquired about former Middlesbrough defender Emanuel Pogatetz, 31, at Wolfsburg. Wigan and Aston Villa have also been offered the Austrian.

OTHER GOSSIP

Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing has made 27 appearances for Liverpool this season, scoring three times
Liverpool winger Stewart Downing, 28, has revealed how his recent run of good form was inspired by being told he could leave by manager Brendan Rodgers.
Midfielder Shaun Derry, 35, has accused some of his QPR team-mates of not working hard enough in their relegation battle.
Manchester City's new director football Txiki Begiristain wants to play a new 4-3-3 system next season and wants future signings to be tailored to it.
Swansea coach Alan Curtis, 58, insists ball boys have never been told to slow the game down in the wake of the Welsh side's League Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea. The game was marred by the sending off of Chelsea's Eden Hazard for kicking a ball boy.

AND FINALLY

A Bradford City fan in Melbourne, Australia has had a Facebook wager with his wife that, if he gets a million 'likes', he can go to the Capital One Cup final against Swansea City.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, 38, has signed up for a 300-mile celebrity charity bike ride, which will take place at the same time as the Champions League final in May.